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64th Congeess 
1st Session 



SENATE 



Document 
No. 324 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO 



MESSAGE 



FROM THE 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES 

TRANSMITTING 

IN RESPONSE TO A SENATE RESOLUTION OF 

JANUARY 6, 1916, CERTAIN INFORMATION 

RELATIVE TO AFFAIRS IN MEXICO 



February 17, 1916.— Read; ordered to lie on the table 
and to be printed 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1916 






of D. 
S 1916 



SUBMITTED BY MR. FALL. 



In the Senate of the United States, 

January 6, 1916. 

Resolved, That the President be requested, if not incompatible with 
the public interests, to inform the vSenate upon the following sub- 
jects and to transmit to the Senate the documents, letters, reports, 
orders, and so forth, hereinafter referred to: 

First. Is there a government now existing in the Republic of 
Mexico; and if so. 

Second. Is such government recognized by this Government; how 
is such government maintained, and where; who is now the recog- 
nized head of such government, and is the same a constitutional 
government ? 

Third. By what means was the recognition of any government in 
Mexico brought about, and what proceedings, if any, were followed 
prior to and resulting in recognition, in any conference between this 
country and Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, and any other 
country or countries ? 

Fourth. What assurances has the Government of Mexico given 
this Government as to its course in protecting American lives and 
property in Mexico and in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Cali- 
fornia; and, if such assurances have been given, what evidence has 
this Government of the ability of such Government to fulfill its 
promises and obligations in the premises ? 

Fifth. What orders or instructions have been issued to our offi- 
cials and armed forces on or near the Mexican border for the protec- 
tion of the lives, property, and peace of American citizens along said 
border ? 

Sixth. What assurances have been received from the Mexican 
Government, or requested by this Government, as to payment of 
American damage claims for injury to life or property of our citizens 
resulting from the acts of Mexico or citizens of that country within 
the past five years ? 

Seventh. What assurances have been given by the Mexican Gov- 
ernment as to the protection of foreigners and ci+izens, and par- 
ticularly in the free exercise of their religion, in public or in private ? 

Eighth. Reports of the Brazilian minister to Mexico made to 
this Government by letter or otherwise while said minister was 
representing this Government in Mexico; also reports of American 
consuls and consular representatives in Mexico during the past four 
years, together with reports from any special or other sources of 
information available or in hand concerning or relating to Mexican 
affairs and conditions, or to Mexican officials or military and fac- 
tional leaders; reports of the actions of the Red Cross in Mexico, 
and their reports to this Government. 



4 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

Ninth. Data, letters, and reports relating to the closing of the 
poit of El Paso and reopening same to importations of meat from 
Juarez, and also to the setting aside or revocation of any decrees or 
orders of Villa concerning mining property. 

Tenth. Information concerning the occupation of Vera Cruz by 
our land and naval forces; duration of such occupation; our admin- 
istration of affairs during such occupancy; and the date and cause 
of the evacuation of Vera Cruz, with all correspondence concerning 
such evacuation. 

Attest : 

James M. Baker, Secretary. 



MESSAGE OF TRANSMITTAL. 



To the Senate: 

In response to the resolution adopted by the Senate on January 6, 
1916, requesting the President to inform the Senate, if not incom- 
patible with the public interests, upon certain subjects respecting 
the situation in Mexico, and to transmit to the Senate the documents, 
letters, reports, orders, and so forth, therein referred to, I transmit 
herewith a report by the Secretary of State, with, accompanying 
papers. 

The report of the Secretary of State has my approval. 

WooDRow Wilson. 

The White House, 

Washington, Fehruary 17, 1916. 



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LIST OF PAPERS. 



1. The Secretary of State to Mr. Arredondo, October 19, 1915. 

2. Statement by the President with regard to Mexico, June 2, 1915. 

3. Appeal to all generals, governors, and other leaders in Mexico, signed by the 

Secretary of State, the ambassadors of Brazil, Chile, and Argentina and the 
ministers of Bolivia, Uruguay, and Guatemala, August 11, 1915. 

4. From Mr. Arredondo to the Secretary of State, October 7, 1915. 
4A. Frcm Gen. Carranza to Mr. Arredondo, October 5, 1915 (telegram). 

4B. Resume of the Mexican Constitutionalist Revolution and its progress, by Mr. 

Arredondo, date. October 7, 1915. 
40. Plan of Guadalupe, March 26, 1913. 
4D. Decree of Gen. Carranza, December 12, 1914. 
4E. Declaration to the Nation by Gen. Carranza, June 11, 1915. 
4F. From Gen. Carranza to Mr. Arredondo, October 6, 1915 (telegram). 

5. From the Secretary of War to the Secretary of State, February 10, 1916. 

5A. Weekly report of general conditions along the Mexican bor,.er, baseJ on weekly 

reports of January 1, 1916. 
5B. Weekly report of general con itions along the Mexican border, based on weekly 

reports of January 15, 1916. 

6. From the Secretary of War to the Secretary of State, January 26, 1916 (extract) . 

7. From Mr. Arre on o to the Secretary of State, October 8, 1915. 

8. From consul at Chihuahua to the Secretary of State, No. 658, July 31, 1915. 

8A. From the Acting Secretary of State to the consul at Chihuahua. No. 379, August 

11, 1915. 
8B. From Mine an ^ Smelter Operators' Association to the Secretaiy of State, received 

August 6. 1915 (telee:ram). 
80. From George C. Carothers to the Secretary of State, received August 12, 1915 

(telegTam) . 

9. From Rear Admiral Fletcher to the Secretary of the Navy, April 9, 1914 (tele- 

gram) . 
9A. From the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of State, January 19, 1916. 
9B. From the Secretary of War to the Secretary of State, January 26, 1916. 

10. From the Secretary of State to the Brazilian Minister in Mexico, September 22, 

1914 (teleg.am). 

11. From the Bxazilian Minister in Mexico to the Secretary of State, November 

10, 1914 (telegvam). 

12. List of Americans killed in Mexico during 1913-1915. 

12A. List of Americans killed in Mexico in 1910, 1911, and 1912. 

12B. List of Americans reported killed in American territory as a result of the Mexi- 
can border troubles dm-ing the years 1913-1915. 

12C. List of American soldiers killed in American territory on account of Mexican 
border troubles. 

12D. Mexicans reported killed in American territory as a result of border troubles 
other than those resultirg from firing across the international line, during 
ergagements in Mexican border towns, between the years 1913 and 1915, 
inclusive. 



LETTER OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE TO THE PRESIDENT. 



To the President; 

The resolution adopted by the United States Senate on January 6, 
1916, requesting to be furnished, if not incompatible with the public 
interest, with documents, letters, reports, orders, etc., relating to the 
Mexican situation, having been referred by you to the Department 
of State for report, I have the honor to state, after earnest consider- 
ation of the recpiest in the light of such study as the department has 
fiven this subject for a period of several years, that I believe it to 
e incompatible witli the public interest to transmit to the Senate, at 
the present time, the voluminous correspondence called for by the 
resolution between the Department of State and the representatives 
of the United States in Mexico, or that between this department and 
representatives of the de facto Government of Mexico, of which Gen. 
Venustiano Carranza is the Chief Executive. 

In response, however, to the inquiries made in the resolution, I 
have had prepared the following concise statement, together with 
copies of certain pertinent documents which are hereto appended: 

(1) The government at present existing in Mexico is a de facto 
government, established by military power, which has definitely 
committed itself to the holding of popular elections upon the resto- 
ration of domestic peace. 

(2) This de facto Government of Mexico, of which Gen. Venustiano 
Carranza is the Chief Executive, was recognized by the Government 
of the United vStates on October 19, 1915, and a copy of the letter to 
Mr. Eliseo Arredondo, the representative of the de facto government 
at this capital, informing him of such recognition is hereto appended 
(inclosure No. 1). The said de facto government has since been 
recognized by substantially all the countries of Latin America ; also 
by Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Japan, Austria-Hungary, 
Germany, and Spain; and several other countries have recently 
announced their intention of extending recognition. The said de 
facto government is at present being maintained at Queretaro, near 
Mexico City. 

It can not be said that the de facto Government of Mexico is a con- 
stitutional government. The de facto government, like the majority 
of revolutionary governments, is of a military character, but, as 
already stated, that government has committed itself to the holding 
of elections, and it is confidently expected that the present govern- 
ment will, within a reasonable time, be merged in or succeeded by a 
government organized under the constitution and laws of Mexico. 

(3) After July, 1914, the revolutionary party became divided into 
factions, thereby delaying the pacification of the country. Mean- 
while, this Government took no action, hoping that these factions 
would, by reunion, be able to restore order. As this desirable result 
had not been achieved up to June 2, 1915, the President's statement 



10 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

of that (late, containing' a warning to the leaders of the factions, was 
telegraphed to the American consular officers in Mexico, for circula- 
tion. A copy of this st; tenient is appended hereto (inclosure No. 2). 

Several weeks after the statement was issued, as the factional 
differences seemed to be no nearer to a settlement, this Government 
sounded the six ranking diplomatic representatives of Latin-America 
as to whether they would confer and advise with this Government in 
regard to formuL.ting some practicable plan, if possible, for the solu- 
tion of the Mexican problem. Under instructions from their respec- 
tive governments, these representatives signified their desire to co- 
operate with this Government, and the first conference with the 
representatives was held on August 5, 1 ist. 

As a result of that conference the ambassadors of Argentina, Brazil, 
and Chile, the ministers of Bolivia, Uruguay, and Guatemala, and 
the Secretary of State of the United States, acting severally, signed 
an appeal to the civil and military leaders of the revolutionary fac- 
tions in Mexico, suggesting that the latter hold a conference to dis- 
cuss a peaceful settlement of their differences and offered to act as 
intermediaries to arrange the time, place, and other details of such 
conference. Identical communications in this sense were, under date 
of August 13 and 14 last, sent by telegraph to all generals, governors, 
and other leaders known to be exercising civil or military authority 
in Mexico. A copy of this communication is appended (inclosure 
No. 3). 

The attempt to bring the factions together for a conference failed. 

Substantially all the commanders and others in authority who 
were associated with Gen. Villa, replied directly and independently, in 
varied language, accepting the suggestion for a conference. On the 
other hand, all the commanders and others in authority who were 
affiliated with Gen. Carranza replied briefly to the effect that the 
appeal had been referred to Gen. Carranza, whose superior authority 
they acknowledged, and who would make such reply as he deemed 
proper. The inference to be drawn was plain. On the one hand, 
there seemed to be no central organization among the Villista forces, 
while, on the other hand, submission to a central authority was evi- 
denced in the replies of the Carranzistas. The unity and loyalty of 
the Carranzistas appeared to indicate the ultimate triumph of that 
faction, especially as the Carranzista forces were then in control of 
approximatel}?^ 75 per cent of the territory of Mexico. Accordingly 
the conferees, after careful and impartial consideration of all the 
circumstances, decided unanimously to recommend severally to their 
respective governments that in then- opinion the government of 
which Gen. Carranza was the leader should be recognized as the de 
facto government of Mexico. 

(4) There is appended hereto a copy of a letter from Mr. Eliseo 
Arredo'ulo, the local representative of Gen. Carranza in Washingtoa, 
dated October 7, 1915 (inclosure No. 4), transmitting several docu- 
ments (inclosures 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, and 4F), setting forth the 
program of the de facto government with respect to the protection of 
the hves and property of foreigners in Mexico, the settlement of 
claims arising from the disturbed conditions, and other matters ap- 
pertaining to the restoration of order. 

As to the ability of the de facto government to fulfill its promises 
to protect lives and properties along the border, the undersigned has 



AFFAIRS IX MEXICO. 11 

the honor to call your atter tion to the fact that smce assurances in 
this respect were given to this Government by the de facto govern- 
ment, the disturbances along the border have in a large measure 
ceased. In this connection a copy of a letter from the Secretary of 
War, dated February 10, 1916 (inclosure No. 5), and copies of weekly 
reports Nos. 146 and 148 for the weeks ending January 1 and January 
15, 1916, prepared by the War Department, concerning gei eral con- 
ditions along the Mexican border (inclosures Nos. 5A and 5B), are 
hereto ap]:'e' ded. It will be seen from these reports that conditions 
alo] g the ])order are practically normal. 

In respect to tlie evidence in the possession of this Government of 
the ability of the de facto government of Mexico to fulfill its promises 
and obligatio! s relative to protectirg American lives and property in 
Mexico, the department's irform.ation indicates that the de facto 
government is row in control of all but a few sections of Mexico, and 
that, bearing i;n mird that the nation is just emerging from years of 
domestic strife, it may be said that within the territory which it 
controls it is affording, in ill the circumstances, reasonably adequate 
protection to the lives and propert}^ of American citizens and that it 
is taking st(\ps to extend its authority over and restore order in 
sectiors now in the hands of hostile factions. In this connection, 
however, it should be stated that the lawless conditions which have 
long conthmed throughout a large part of the territory of Mexico are 
not easy to remedy and that the great number of bandits who have 
infested certain districts and devastated property in such territory 
am not be suppressed innnediately, but that their suppression will 
require some time for its accomplishment, pending which it may be 
expected tliat they will commit sporadic outrages upon lives and 
property. 

(5) With reference to the protection of the lives and property of 
American citizens on or near the Mexican border, there is inclosed 
herewith an extract from a -letter on the subject from the Secretary 
of War, dated January 26, 1916 (inclosure No. 6). 

(6) With regard to the settlement of American claims against the 
Mexican Republic for injuries to the lives or property of American 
citizens, the undersigned has the honor to direct your attention to 
to the copy of a letter from Mr. Arredondo, dated October 7, 1915, 
and its inclosures, heretofore referred to and hereto appended as 
inclosure No. 4, and its annexes. 

(7) With reference to the assurances given by the Mexican gov- 
ernment concerning the protection of foreigners and ''citizens," 
particularly respecting the free exercise of religion, the undersigned 
incloses herewith a copy of a letter on the subject from Mr. Arredondo, 
dated October 8, 1915 (inclosure No. 7). 

(8) As heretofore stated, it is not considered compatible with the 
public interest to transmit to the Senate at the present time the 
correspondence regarding political conditions in Mexico. Much 
of this correspondence is of a highly confidential nature, submitted 
by the consular officers of the iJnited States, by diplomatic or con- 
sular officers of other Governments, which have graciously consented 
that their officers might supply this Government with information 
during the necessary absence of American representatives, and by 
other persons residing in Mexico. To reveal the contents of the 
reports submitted by representatives of the United States and by 



12 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

the representatives of other Governmoiits, would be iiiconipati])le 
with pubhc interest, as it would tend to impair the usefuhiess of 
these officials to their respective Governments; and to make public 
the personal and frequently confidential statements submitted from 
time to time by civilians, miglit seriously embarrass them. 

It may be added that the papers requested by the Senate resolution 
comprise thousands of documents, the greater part of which set 
forth individual opinions and suggestions from different points of 
view, and therefore contain a mass of divergent and contradictory 
matter incapable of reduction to a harmonious statement of fact 
regarding the situation in Mexico or of the plans pi-oposed for its 
improvement. 

(9) With reference to the request for ''data, letters, and repoi'ts 
relating to the closing of the port of El Paso and reopening same to 
importations of meat from Juarez," the undersigned has the honor 
to state that the port of El Paso has not been closed during this 
administration to the importation of meats from Juarez. If meats 
from Juarez were at any time prohibited entry into the laiited States, 
it was because such meats were not properly prepared to pass the 
inspection maintained under the regulations of the Department of 
Agriculture of this Government and not because the port of El Paso 
was closed to any particular class of imports. 

With respect to the revocation of the mining decree issued b}^ 
Gen. Villa, the undersigned incloses an extract from a dispatch from 
the American consul at Chihuahua, dated July 31, 1915 (inclosure 
No. 8), and a copy of the department's reply thereto, dated August 11, 
1915 (inclosure No. 8A). There is also inclosed a copy of a telegram 
in regard to this matter from the Mine and Smelter Operators' 
Association, dated at El Paso, Tex., August 6, 1915 (inclosure 
No. SB), together with a copy of an undated telegram from Mr. 
George C. Carothers, the department's special agent, received by the 
department on August 12, 1915 (inclosure No. SC), stating that 
Gen. Villa's mining decree would not be enforced. 

(10) Concerning the occupation and evacuation of Vera Cruz by 
United States land and naval forces, the undersigned has the honor 
to inclose a copy of Admiral Fletcher's telegram to the Secretary of 
the Navy, dated April 9, 1914 (inclosure No. 9), quoting a telegram 
from Admiral Mayo, of the same date, reporting the arrest at Tampico 
of the paymaster and a boat's crew of the U. S. S. Dolphin; a copy of 
a letter from the Secretary of the Navy, dated January 19, 1916 
(inclosure No. 9A) ; and an extract from a letter from the Secretary 
of War, dated January 26, 1916 (inclosure No. 9B), hereinbefore 
mentioned as inclosure No. 6, in which reference is made to border 
conditions. 

When the arrest of the men mentioned was reported to the De- 
partment of State, informal negotiations were immediately begun 
with the Huertista government with a view of settling the difficulty, 
but owing to the refusal of Gen. Huerta, to comply with Admiral 
Mayo's demand for a salute, the negotiations were suspended. The 
American consuls in Mexico were informed by telegraph on April 20 
1914, that the negotiations had been suspended, and that the Presi- 
dent would lay the matter before the Congress on that date, with a view 
to taking such action as might be necessary to obtain reparation for 
the offense against the flag and Navy of the United States, and 



AFFAIRS IJSr MEXICO. 13 

they were instructed to advise Americans to withdraw from Mexican 
territory. 

On September 15, 1914, 7 p. m., the Department of State dispatched 
a telegram to the minister of Brazil at Mexico City, temporarily in 
charge of American interests, for delivery by him to Vice Consul 
Silliman, in which the latter was instructed to say to Gen. Carranza 
that the President was arranging to withdraw the American troops 
from Vera Cruz, and that he desired that some responsible authority 
be named to whom the customhouse could be turned over and that 
officials be designated to whom authority in the city could be deliv- 
ered. On September 22, a telegram was sent to the minister of Brazil, 
in which the Carranza government was requested to give certain 
assurances in regard to the payment of taxes, treatment of refugees 
at Vera Cruz, and other matters. A copy of this telegram is inclosed 
herewith (inclosure No. 10). 

On November 10, 1914, the minister of Brazil at Mexico City tele- 
graphed Gen. Carranza's reply to the assurances requested on Sep- 
tember 22. A copy of this telegram is inclosed herewith (inclosure 
No. 11). 

I have also the honor to append a list (inclosure No. 12) of the citi- 
zens of the United States, who, from various causes, have lost their 
lives in Mexico during the years 1913, 1914, and 1915. The total is 
76. From the latter part of February, 1913, when the military oper- 
ations against Gen. Huerta began, to the close of the year 1915, a 
period of 34 months, a great portion of the territory of Mexico was 
the scene of domestic strife. Yet it may be noted that during the 
years 1910, 1911, and 1912, when a much smaller area was disturbed 
by war, 47 Americans lost their lives in Mexico (inclosure No. 12A); 
and this was at a time when the country was assumed to be at peace, 
since the Madero revolution, which began on November 20, 1910, 
lasted only six months. 

While 76 Americans lost their lives in the entire territory of Mexico 
during the years 1913, 1914, and 1915, in the same period there were 
20 civilian Americans and 16 American soldiers killed on American 
soil, adjacent to the international boundary (inclosures Nos. 12B and 
12C), and during those years there were approximately 92 Mexicans 
killed in the same area (mclosure No. 12D). 

These figures indicate that a condition of lawlessness prevailed 
along the border, due in large measure to factional conflicts in Mexican 
territory for ports of entry, and to the unfriendly personal relations 
existing between the American and Mexican residents in that region. 
The department, however, has no reliable information as to the num- 
ber of Mexicans killed on the Mexican side of the boundary and in 
its immediate vicinity as a consequence of this state of disorder. 

Respectfully submitted. 

Robert Lansing. 

Department of State, 

WasJdngtoii, Fehruary 12, 1916. 



14 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

[Inclosure No. I.] 

the secretary of state to mr. arredondo. 

Department of State, 

Washington, October 19, 1915. 
My Dear Mr. Arredondo: It is my pleasure to inform you that 
the President of the United States takes this opportunity of extend- 
ing recognition to the de facto government of Mexico, of which Gen. 
Veiiustiano Carranza is the Chief Executive. 

The Government of the. United States will be pleased to receive 
formally in Washington a diplomatic representative of the de facto 
government as soon as it shall please Gen. Carranza to designate 
and appoint such representative; and, reciprocally, the Government 
of the United States will accredit to the de facto government a dip- 
lomatic representative as soon as the President has had opportunity 
to designate such representative. 

I should appreciate it if you could find it possible to communicate 
this information to Gen. Carranza at your earliest convenience. 
Very sincerely, yours, 

Robert Lansing. 



[Inclosui'e No. 2.] - 

STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT WITH REGARD TO MEXICO. 

For more than two years revolutionary conditions have existed in 
Mexico. The purpose of the revolution was to rid Mexico of men who 
ignored the constitution of the Republic and used their power in 
contempt of the rights of its people; and with these p\irposes the 
people of the United States instinctively and generously sj^ipathized. 
But the leaders of the revolution, in the very hour of their success, 
have disagreed and turned their arms against one another. All pro- 
fessing the same objects, they are, nevertheless, unable or unwilling 
to cooperate. A central authority at Mexico City is no sooner set up 
than it is undermined and its authority denied by those who were 
expected to support it. Mexico is apparently no nearer a solution 
of her tragical troubles than she was whe i the revolution was first 
kindled. And she has been swept by civil war as if by fire. Her 
crops are destroyed, her fields lie unseeded, her work cattle are con- 
fiscated for the use of the armed factions, her people flee to the moun- 
tains to escape being drawn into unavailing bloodshed, and no man 
seems to see or lead the way to peace and settled order. There is no 
proper protection either for her own citizens or for the citizens of other 
nations resident and at work within her territory. Mexico is starving 
and without a government. 

In these circumstances the people and Government of the United 
States can not stand indiflferent^y by and do nothing to serve their 
neighbor. They want nothing for themselves in Mexico. Least of 
all do they desire to settle her affairs for her, or claim any right to 
do so. But neither do they wish to see utter ruin come upon her, 
and they deem it their duty as friends and neighbors to lend any aid 
they properly can to any instrumentality which promises to be 
effective in bringing about a settlement which will embody the real 
objects of the revolution — constitutional government and the rights 



AFFAIKS IN MEXICO. 15 

of the people. Patriotic Mexicans are sick at heart and cry out for 
peace and for every self-sacrifice that may be necessary to procure it. 
Their people cry out for food and will presently hate as much as they 
fear every man, in their country or out of it, who stands between 
them and their daily bread. 

It is time, therefore, that the Government of the United States 
should frankly state the policy which in these extraordinary circum- 
stances it becomes its duty to adopt. It must presently do what it 
has not hitherto done or felt at liberty to do, lend its active moral 
support to some man or group of men, if such may be found, who 
can rally the suffering people of Mexico to their support in an effort to 
ignore, if they can not unite, the warring factions of the country, 
return to the constitution of the Republic so long in abeyance, and 
set up a government at Mexico City which the great powers of the 
world can recognize and deal with, a government with whom the 
program of the revolution will be a business and not merely a plat- 
form. I therefore publicly and very solemnly call upon the leaders 
of faction in Mexico to act, to act together, and to act promptly for 
the relief and redemption of their prostrate country. I feel it to be 
my duty to tell them that, if they can not accommodate their dif- 
ferences and unite for this great purpose within a very short time, 
this Government will be constrained to decide what means should 
be employed by the United wStates in order to help Mexico save herself 
and serve her people. 

Washington, June 2, 1915. 



APPEAL TO GENERALS, GOVERNORS, AND OTHER MEXICAN 

LEADERS. 

[Inclosure No. 3. Sent to all consuls in Mexico under date of Aug. 13 and 14, 1914.] 
[Translation.] 

Washington, D. C, August 11, 1915. 

The undersigned, the Secretary of State of the United States, the 
ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Brazil, Chile, 
and Argentina, and the envoys extraordinary and ministers pleni- 
potentiary of Bolivia, Uruguay, and Guatemala, accredited to the 
Government of the United States of America, acting severally and 
independently, unanimously send to you the following communi- 
cation : 

Inspired by the most sincere spirit of American fraternity, and 
convinced that they rightly interpret the earnest v/ish of the entire 
continent, have met informally at the suggestion of the Secretary of 
State of the United States to consider the Mexican situation and to 
ascertain whether their friendly and disinterested help could be suc- 
cessfully employed to reestablish peace and constitutional order in 
our sister Republic. 

In the heat of the frightful struggle which for so long has steeped 
in blood the Mexican soil, doubtless all may well have lost sight of 
the dissolving effects of the strife upon the most vital conditions of 
the national existence, not only upon the life and liberty of the 
inhabitants, but on the prestige and security of the country. We 
can not doubt, however — no one can doubt — that in the presence of 
a sympathetic appeal from their brothers of America, recalling to 



16 AFFAIES IN MEXICO. 

thorn those disastrous offocts, asking thorn to save tlioir motiierland 
from ail abyss — no one can doubt, we repeat — that the patriotism 
of th(^ men who lead or aid in any way the bloody strife will not 
remain unmoved ; no one can dou})t tliat each and every one of them, 
measuring; in his own conscience his share in the responsibilities of 
past misfortune and looking forward to his share in the glory of the 
pacification and reconstruction of the country, will respond, nobly 
and r(>solutely, to this friendly appeal and give tlieir best efforts to 
opening the way to some saving action. 

We, the undersigned, believe that if the men directing the armed 
movements in Mexico — whether political or military chiefs — should 
agree to meet, either in person or by delegates, far from the sound 
of cannon, and with no other inspiration save the thought of their 
{afflicted land, there to exchange ideas and to determine the fate of 
the country — from such action would undoubtedly result the strong 
and unyielding agreement recjuisite to the creation of a provisional 
government, which should adopt the first steps necessary to the con- 
stitutional reconstruction of the countr}^ — and to issue the first and 
most essential of them all, the immediate call to general elections. 

An adequate place within the Mexican frontiers, which for the pur- 
pose might be neutralized, should serve as the seat of the conference; 
and in order to bring about a confertnce of this nature the under- 
signed, or any of them, will willingly, upon invitation, act as inter- 
mediaries to arrange the time, place, and other details of such con- 
ference, if this action can in any way aid the Mexican people. 

The undersigned expect a reply to this communication within a 
reasonable time; and consider that such a time would be 10 days 
after the communication is delivered, subject to prorogation for cause. 

Robert Lansing, 
Secretary of State of the United States. 
D. DA Gama, 
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brazil. 

Edo. Suarez-Mujica, 

Amhassador Extraordina,ry and Plenipotentiary of Chile. 

R. S. Naon, 
Amhassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Argentina. 

I. Calderon, 
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Bolivia. 

Carlos Maria de Pena, 
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Uruguay. 

Joaquin Mendez, 
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Guatemala. 



[Inclosure No. -1.] 

mr. arredondo to the secretary of state. 
Agencia Confidencial del 

GOBIERNO CONSTITUCIONALISTA DE MeXICO, 

^YasJlington, D. C, October 7, 1915. 
Mr. Secretary: In consideration of the agreement between your 
excellency and the other American representatives, during the last 
conference held in New York, on the 18th ultimo, I have the honor 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 17 

to transmit herewith, for your excellency's information, a brief 
review of the Mexican revolution, initiated by Mr. Venustiano Car- 
ranza in February, 1913, explaining its origin, development, and 
progress made to this day; and a copy of declarations made by Mr. 
Carranza, as the leader of the revolution and depository of the execu- 
tive power of Mexico, which define the tendencies and program to be 
followed by the constitutionalist government, during its transitory 
period, indispensable for the holding of general elections in the 
Republic, wherefrom a definite constitutional government will 
emanate. 

Mr. Venustiano Carranza, depository of the executive power of 
Mexico, whom I have the honor to represent in this countiy, has 
authorized me to say to your excellency that his public declarations 
of December 12, 1914, and June 11, 1915, bear the statement that 
the government he represents, in its capacity of a political entity, 
conscious of its international obligations and of its capability to 
comply with them, has afforded guaranties to the nationals, and 
has done likewise with legard to foreigners, and shall continue to see 
that their lives and property are respected, in accordance with the 
practices established by civilized nations and the treaties in force 
between Mexico -and other countries. 

That besides the above he will recognize and satisfy indemnities 
for damages caused by the revolution, which shall be settled in due 
time and in terms of justice. 

I avail myself of this opportunity to reiterate to your excellency 
the assurance of my highest consideration. 

E. Arredondo, 
Confidential Agent. 

His Excellency Robert Lansing, 

Secretary of State of the United States of America, 

Washington, D. 0. 



[InclosureNo. 4A.] 
GEN. CARIIANZA TO MR. ARREDONDO. 

[Telegram,] 

Vera Cruz, Mexico, October 5, 1915. 
Eliseo Arredondo, Esq., 

Mexican Embassy, Washington, D. C: 
Your ciphered message dated yesterday. The general situation 
of the country is constantly improving, and preferent attention is 
being given to repairing railway lines in order to facilitate transpor- 
tation of merchandise to place where they are lacking. It is untrue 
that the Zapatistas blew up a passenger train, as stated by you, and 
although several bands are harassing trains, these are well pro- 
tected, and the persecution waged against will soon annihilate them. 
It is true that a minor officer killed a young lad}^, but he succeeded in 
escaping, but he is being pursued, and when arrested he will receive 
a severe punishment. 

Carranza. 

S. Doc. 324, 64-1 2 



18 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

[luclosure No. 4B.] 

RESUME OF THE MEXICAN CONSTITUTIONALIST BE VOLUTION 

AND ITS PROGRESS. 

The civil strife in Mexico, now nearing its end, whicii grew out of 
the arrest and subsequent deatli of Francisco I. Madero and Jose 
Maria Pino Suarez, President and Vice President, riespectively, of the 
Republic of Mexico, and was a consequence of the usurpation of 
power by Gen. Victoriano Huerta, had its beginning on the 19th of 
February, 1913. On this date Mr. Venustiano Carranza, upon being 
apprised of the above-mentioned outrageous assault and of the 
infringement of the federal constitution, and acting in his capacity 
of governor of the State of Coahuila and in fealty to the oath he had 
taken upon entering into the performance of his high investiture to 
preserve and cause all others to observe the federal constitution and 
to guard its institutions, repudiated the aforesaid Gen. Huerta as 
President of Mexico and initiated that which has been named as 
''The revolution of the Constitutionalist Party." 

Mr. Venustiano Carranza, obeying the provision of the federal con- 
stitution which his oath of office involved as governor of the State of 
Coahuila, raised the flag of legality against the usurpation of federal 
power, at the same time calling all public officers in the country to do 
their duty and inviting all commanders of troops to repudiate and 
oppose Gen. Huerta as President of the Republic; but in view of the 
fact that none of the secretaries in the cabinet of Mr. Madero, who 
by operation of law and according to their precedence were expected 
to punish the outrage committed against the constitution, responded 
to the call to duty, Mr. Carranza was constrained to assume the 
leadership of therestorating movement because it was his duty to do do 
as governor of the State of Coahuila and pursuant to the unanimous 
vote of the citizens who at that moment had rallied around him to 
defend the political constitution of the united Mexican States and to 
save its institutions. 

Mr. Carranza is, therefore, in the light of the federal constitution 
of Mexico, the rightlul successor of Francisco I. Madero in the exer- 
cise of the executive power, to the exclusion of any other public 
officer, because he was the only one who complied with his duty 
according to the fundamental charter of the Republic. 

The nomination of Mr. Carranza as chief of the revolution took place 
in the hacienda de Guadalupe, State of Coahuila, where the well- 
known "Plan of Guadalupe" was framed and enacted on March 
26, 1913, which was the rule of action to be observed and followed 
by the army which was then being organized with the sole purpose 
of opposing and overthrowing the power of Gen. Victoriano Huerta, 
and which was wisely named at that time as "constitutionalist 
army." 

In accordance with this brief, concise, and well-defined plan of 
action, the sole object of which and its only duty were to restore 
the efl^ectiveness of the constitution trampled upon by Huerta and 
his accomplices, a small group of patriots lead by Mr. Carranza and 
seconded afterwards by the State of Sonora only, started a disad- 
vantageous struggle against the central power of Huerta, who had 
the decided support of the federal army and of the powerful elements 
of the cientifico and reactionary party. 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 19 

After a revolution of a year and a half which disturbed the whole 
country and has shed so much blood and caused so great injury 
to the Mexican people, Mr. Carranza made his triumphant entry 
into the City of Mexico at the head of the restorating army on August 
19, 1914, taking immediate possession of the executive authority of 
the Kepublic of Mexico, in accordance with the plan of Guadalupe, 
dated March 26, 1913. 

As soon as Mr. Carranza took his seat in the national palace of 
the City of Mexico, he began the organization of the various depart- 
ments of state with view to attending at once to all the services of 
public administration, and at the same time complying with a verbal 
promise he made to all the leaders who seconded the plan of Guada- 
lupe when the constitutionalist army should occupy the City of 
Mexico. He called all the governors and leaders in command of troops 
to a meeting which was to take place on the 1st day of October, 
1914, for the purpose of discussing and adopting the program or 
platform which the constitutionalist government should follow 
prior to elections; the reforms which should be carried into effect; 
the date on which elections should be held, and all other matters of 
general interest which the circumstances might require. 

But Gen. Francisco Villa, who was then the commander of the 
northera division of the constitutionalist army, who had signed and 
sworn to support the plan of Guadalupe, induced and encouraged by 
a group of sordid and ambitious counselors, who had not been ad- 
mitted by Mr. Carranza, and confirming his rebellious designs against 
the first chief, of which he had given evidence since the month of 
June of 1914, when he refused to obey the orders of his chief to go 
to the rescue of Gen. Panhlo Natera, who was attacking the city of 
Zacatecas, which was then occupied by Huerta's forces, made a reply 
to the call, stating that neither he nor any of the generals of his divi- 
sion would attend the meeting to be held on October 1 in Mexico, at 
the same time publishing a declaration repudiating the leadership of 
!Mr. Carranza and alleging that he was not the man required by the 
circumstances to occupy the presidency of the Republic and insure 
the triumph of the revolution. 

The convention was, therefore, held without the attendance of the 
northern division, among the other military commanders and gover- 
nors of States; but as soon as the sessions were initiated, Mr. Carranza 
considered that Gen. Villa and the commanders of his division were 
obstinate in a futile struggle which would again stain Mexico's soil 
with the blood of its people and would be of disastrous consequences, 
and seeing with sadness that several other leaders were vacillating 
in the face of danger and the hardships of a new struggle, loyal to 
the principles of abnegation and patriotism of which he had given 
evidence, and guided only by the desire to avoid greater evils to his 
country, he appeared before the assembly on a certain day in the 
legislative palace of Mexico and astonished everybody by relinquish- 
ing before it the power with which he had been vested, promising to 
retire to private life and even to leave the country, stating that he 
would return the authority to those who had conferred it on him and 
hoped that they would know how to save the Republic from a new 
struggle growing out of Villas rebellion and would carry into practice 
the reforms of an economic and social order which the people de- 
manded and which had been the subject of the strife. 



20 AFFAIRS IjST MEXICO. 

Mr. C'urnu za, divestt^d of all command and as a simple citizen, 
returned to his home, leaving the convention in complete liberty to 
continue its sessions and to discuss and designate the ])ersoii who 
should take his place. 

The convention went oji witli its work, and, after brief deliberations 
cojicerniiig the resignation of Mr. C'arranza, all those present unani- 
mously decided to call him back aiid ask him to resume the duties of 
first chief of the constitutionalist army and to continue at the head 
of the executive power of the nation, inasmuch as he was the genuine 
representative ofthe revolution, the faitliful interpreter of its tej-d- 
encies and purposes. To that effect, a committee of live generals 
appointed by the convention called at the home of IVIr. Carrarza 
at a late hour of the night and a few minutes later carried him to 
the chamber of deputies, where the important convention was being 
held, vhere he was received amidst the applause of the attendants 
who acclaimed liim as their chief and again invested him with the 
power of the nation; and Mr. Carranza, responding to the necessities 
of the country and his A'oice of his partisans, accepted the trust and 
once more protested that he would do his duty and would defend the 
principles and program of the revolution against the ambitions and 
malevolence of its enemies, to whom the rebellion of Villa should be 
added. 

Mr. Carranza having again taken charge of the executive po^^'er of 
the ration and invested again with the character of first chief of the 
constitutionalist army, several army officers called upon him asking 
his permission to proceed north in order to confer with the com- 
manders of the northern division headed by Gen. Villa, in an effort 
to procure an agreement wath them and avoid the menacing confiict 
which everyone felt would be of serious consequences for the cause 
and the interests of Mexico. After several interviews in which 
Mr. Carranza constantly endeavored to dissuade the aforesaid gen- 
erals from the futility of their intent, admonishing them against the 
antecedents, ignorance, and well-known traits of Villa, which could 
hardly inspire any confidence in his agreements and pi'omises, per- 
mitted them to go to Aguascalientes, where they were to meet the 
others, but reserving to himself the authority on any decision adopted 
until he would know the result of the above-mentioned conferences. 

The mere conversation and exchange of opinions and judgment 
among the aforesaid leaders, moved onh" by the desire to avoid the 
nearing conflict, was a sufficient pretext for Villa to give them the 
character of a convention, which began by simple conferences and 
ended by assuming the name of a sovereign convention, which dic- 
tated a new program for the revolution and completely disregarded 
the plan of Guadalupe. 

It is well know^n that Gen. Villa immediately sent troops in large 
numbers to the city of Aguascalientes and b}^ means of this manifes- 
tation of violence succeeded in having Gen. Eulalio Gutierrez ap- 
pointed provisional president of Mexico for a term of 20 da3^s, with 
the avowed purpose of eliminating Mr. Carranza from the position of 
first chief and of his trust as depository of the executive power which 
had been then ratified in his favor. It is also a well-known fact, 
within as well as without Mexico, that only a few days had to pass 
when Villa revolted also against Provisional President Gutierrez, the 
choice of the so-called convention, and accompanied by a body of 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 21 

armed troops attacked him in his own home, forcing Gutierrez to flee 
from the capital to save his hfe. 

Once the works of the so-called convention ended at Aguascalientes 
and having set in relief, as stated before, that the aim of Villa was no 
other than to assume power by assault and declare himself the dic- 
tator of Mexico, the various leaders and officers, who, deceived on the 
one hand and startled on the other by the precipitation of the oc- 
currence and their lack of experience in political matters, had attended 
the Aguascalientes convention, returned to the side of the first chief 
and once more declared their willingness to defend the government of 
Mr. Carranza against the malevolence and ambitions of Villa and those 
who followed him. 

It was at that time, October of last year, that the second struggle 
which Ml*. Carranza had to face began; and it has been necessary to 
devote one whole year of hardships and sacrifice; to destroy thousands 
of lives and interests of the country to overpower the Villa faction, 
which at this time, already disorganized, without elements of support, 
followers, or cohesion, has been confined to the material occupation 
of the northern portion of the State of Chihuahua and a part of the 
State of Sonora. 

In order to foster his ambitions. Gen. Villa sent Gen. Felipe Angeles 
to the State of Morelos to seek the allegiance of the Zapata faction in 
the new fight against Mr. Carranza, for which purpose he made Zapata 
all kinds of promises and succeeded in having a group of 26 Zapatista 
delegates attend the Aguascalientes convention, although they had no 
credentials of any kind or color to attend the conference, nor had ever 
been identified as revolutionaries; but this was of no avail, for the 
ends which Villa and Angeles pursued, whose ambition was to secure 
a majority in the convention, which would insure the success of their 
purpose. 

The Zapata faction, which has never been an organized nucleus of 
resistance, and composed merely of bands of marauders numbering 
sometimes 100, 50, 20, 10, and even less men, never was nor has been 
in accord with the Villa faction except in their intention to fight Mr. 
Carranza; but these latter having been defeated by the forces under 
Gens. Gonzalez and Coss, have retired to their mountain hiding in the 
State of Morelos, and their activity is reduced to raids in the States of 
Mexico, Vera Cruz, and the Federal district, where they attack defense- 
less towns and passenger trains without any other object or finality 
than to rob and profit by the proceeds of their loot, all of whom are 
acting on their own personal initiative and are living in this manner 
outside of the pale of any authority or law. 

From the above it appears that the constitutionalist party, headed 
by Mr. Carranza, initiated the revolution against Huerta in February, 
1913, and organized and equipped successively in various States of 
the Republic an army of volunteers which fought the usurpation of 
Huerta, and finally threw him out of power, as hereinbefore stated; 
and has also fought and completely defeated the factions of Villa and 
Zapata, who had revolted against the authority of the first chief. 

At the present time Mr. Carranza controls 24 States of the 27 which 
make up the Republic, and the territories of Tepic and Quintana Roo 
and the Federal district, and has established in each of them a local 
government which attends the various branches of public service, 
as hereinafter stated, giving the names of the governors ruling the 
States: 



^'2 AFFATRS IN MFA'TCO, 

In Sinaloa the governor is Engineer Manuel Rodriguez Gutierrez; 
in Nuevo Leon, Licentiate Pablo de la Garza; in Coahuila, Licentiate 
Gustavo Espinosa Mireles; in Tamaulipas, Gen. Luis Caballero; in 
Durango, Gen. Domingo Arrieta; in Zacatecas, Gen. Romulo Figue- 
roa; in Aguascalientes, Gen. Martin Triana; in San Luis Potosi, Gen. 
Gabriel Gavira; in Guanajuato, Dr. Jose Suirob; in Queretaro, Gen. 
Gederico Montes; in Miclioacan, Gen. Alfredo Elizondo; in Jalisco, 
Licentiate Manuel Aguierre Berlanga; in Colima, Gen. Juan Jose 
Rios; in Hidalgo, Gen. Nicolas Flore; in the Federal district, Gen. 
Ceasar Lopez de Lara; in Puebla, Col. Dr. Luis G. Cervantes: in 
Tlaxcala, Lieut. Col. Porfirio del Castillo; in Veracruz, Gen. Candido 
Aguilar; in Oaxaca, Gen. Jesus Agustin Castro; in Guerrero, Maj. 
Simon Diaz; in Yucatan, Gen. Salvador Alvarado; in Campeche, Gen. 
Joaquin Mucel; in Tabasco, Gen. Francisco Jose Mugica; in Chiapas, 
Gen. Bias Corral; in Quintana Roo, Col. Carlos Plank; in Tepic, Gen. 
Ernesto Damy; and in Mexico, Gen. Pascual Morales y Molina. 

All of the above leaders of the constitutionalist army and governors 
who have been just appointed recognize the first chieftainship of Mr. 
Carranza and his authority as the depository of the executive power 
of the nation, as the}^ have recently stated it when replying to the 
note addressed to them by the Secretary of State of the United States 
and the American diplomatic representatives, tendering their good 
offices as mediators and inviting them to a conference for the pur- 
pose of solving in this manner the struggle in Mexico. 

From the above-mentioned reply it is seen that, differing from the 
leaders of the Villa and Zapata factions, who made individual replies 
to the aforesaid note according to their own judgment, all the Consti- 
tutionalist leaders referred their replies to Mr. Carranza, thus recog- 
nizing his character of chief of all of them and reiteratmg their 
allegiance to him. This example of discipline, cohesion, and solidarity 
of the Constitutionalist Party clearly manifests that it is not only 
a compact and organized group of men with predetermined tenden- 
cies but a real government from the point of view of international 
law, which has been able to demonstrate its ability to constitute 
itself and to gain the will and respect of the Mexican people. 

The various executive departments are already installed in the 
City of Mexico, and in a short time Mr. Carranza will definitely 
transfer his offices to the capital of Mexico, in order to attend with 
more dispatch ajDid efficiency to the exigencies of public administra- 
tion. 

The department of justice has already organized local courts and 
courts of first instance in the Federal District and Territories, and is 
now ready to carry into effect the agreed project for the organization 
of all the courts in the Republic and for the designation of such 
authorities as are within its province to appoint and which are not 
elective by popular vote. 

In order to irsure the regular operation of the government in 
gene^:"al and those of every State, as well as to afford the greater 
possible guaranties to nationals and foreigners, the constitutionalist 
government has at its disposal an army of 150,000 men, who will 
support, as the circumstances may demand, the established govern- 
ment, and which is conveniei tV distributed throughout the country 
in five divisions or army corps, respectively named divisions of the 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 23 

northeast, northwest, center, south, and east, and respectively com- 
manded by Gens. Jacmto Trevino, Alvaro Obregon, Salvador Alba- 
rado, and Pablo Gonzalez. 

The declarations issued to the nation on December 14, 1914, and 
June 11 of the present year, clearly define the political program of the 
provisional constitutionalist government, which will be continued 
until the conditions of the country may permit the holding of general 
elections and the installation of a general congress. M'Tiien the 
latter is established, Mr. Carranza will appear before it and render 
an account of the use he may have made of the extraordinary authority 
with which he is invested, as well as of the political, economic, and 
social reforms decreed by him during the revolutionary period, to 
the end that the above-mentioned reforms may be given the character 
of constitutional provisions, or may be repealed, amended, or supple- 
mented by the aforesaid high assembly. 

In conclusion, Mr. Carranza has authorized all of the division 
generals to extend amnesty to their opponents, and to the present 
date thousands of soldiers, officers, and civilians have availed them- 
selves of this prerogative, and a decree is now in course of preparation 
in order that Mexicans residing abroad, whose antecedents or the 
offenses they have committed in Mexico may not constitute a 
menace to public order and the peace needed for the reconstruction 
of the country, may return to their homes to look after their interests 
and follow their usual occupations. This, without doubt, will con- 
tribute to a geneial improvement of Mexico and to the resumption of 
all activities in commerce, industry, and agriculture, thus cooperating 
to the welfare and prosperity of Mexico. 

In regard to soldiers of the defeated factions who are still in a 
hostile attitude toward the constitutionalist government, all of 
them, or a greater majority, are awaiting the decision regarding the 
recognition of the Mexican government in order to depose their arms; 
and if they have not done this to this day it is due to the especial 
psychology of all irregular armies which do not grasp the true situ- 
ation, and, exaggerating what they consider their self -pride and mili- 
tary dignity, they leave to time the preparation of a better oppor- 
tunity to depose their arms without blemish to their erroneous 
idea of honor. 

Summing up the conditions hereinbefore stated with the endurance 
of the constitutionalist army during the struggles, with its good 
disposition to organize a local government, as has been done in each 
State under its control, and with the efficiency with which it has been 
able to afford safety to life and property of nationals and foreigners 
alike during the war, it is evident that Mr. Carranza's government 
constitutes a real entity and possesses a political existence of its own, 
willing to comply with the duties of international life, and has the 
ability to conform to them. 

E. Arredondo, 
Confidential Agent of the Constitutionalist Government of Mexico. 

Washington, D. C, Odohey^ 7, 1915. 



24 AFFAIES IN MEXICO. 

[IiK'losure No. iC] 
PLAN OF GUADALUPE. 

PLAN OF GUADALUPE SIGNED BY 64 OFFICERS OF THE TROOPS OF THE 
STA FE OF COAHUILA ON THE 26TH DAY OF MARCH, 1913. 

DECLARATION TO THE NATION. 

Whereas Gen. Victoriano Huerta, to whom Francisco I. Madero, 
constitutional President of Mexico, intrusted the defense of the insti- 
tutions and the legality of his government, on uniting with the rebel 
enemies in arms opposing the same government, to restore the former 
dictatorship, committed the crime of treason to reach power, by 
arresting the President and Vice President, as well as the members of 
the cabinet, forcing them under menace to resign their posts, as 
shown by messages addressed by the same Gen. Huerta to governors 
of the States, advising them that he had the chief executives of the 
Republic and the cabinet as his prisoners; and 

Whereas the legislative and judicial powers have recognized and 
protected Gen. Huerta and his illegal and antipatriotic proceedings, 
contrary to constitutional laws and precepts; and 

Whereas several governors of States of the Republic have recog- 
nized the illegitimate government, imposed by that part of the army 
which consummated the treason, headed by the aforesaid Gen. 
Huerta, notwithstanding that the sovereignty of those very States, 
whose governors should have been the first to repudiate Huerta, had 
been violated, we, the undersigned, chiefs and officers commanding 
the constitutionalist forces, have agreed upon, and shall sustain with 
arms, the following: 

PLAN. 

1. Gen. Victoriano Huerta is hereby repudiated as President of the 
Republic. 

2. The legislative and judicial powers of the federation are also 
hereby disowned. 

3. The governors of the States who still recognize the federal 
powers of the present administration, shall be repudiated 30 days 
after the publication of this plan. 

4. For the purpose of organizing the army, which is to see that our 
aims are carried out, we name Venustiano Carranza, now governor of 
the State of Coahuila, as first chief of the army, which is to be called 
constitutionalist army. 

5. Upon the occupation of the city of Mexico by the constitu- 
tionalist army, the executive power shall be vested in Venustiano 
Carranza, its first chief, or in the person who may substitute him in 
command. 

6. The provisional trustee of the executive power of the Republic 
shall convene general elections as soon as peace may have been 
restored and will surrender power to the citizen who may have been 
elected. 

The citizen who may act as first chief of the constitutionalist army 
in the States whose government might have recognized that of 
Huerta, shall take charge of the provisional government and shall 
convene local elections, after the citizens elected to discharge the high 
powers of the federation may have entered into the performance of 
their duties, as provided in the foregoing bases. 



APFAIBS IN MEXICO. 25 

[Inclosure No. 4D.] 
DECREE OF GEN. CARRANZA. 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR . 

I, Venustiano Carranza, first chief of the constitutionalist army 
and depository of the executive power of the Republic of Mexico, 
taking into consideration — 

That on the arrest of the President and Vice President, on the 19th 
of i-ebruary, 1913, by ex-Gen. Victoriano Huerta, and the usurpation 
of public power by the latter, on the 20th of the spmo month, and 
immediately thereafter depriving the above-men tionul public officers 
of their lives, the constitutional order of the Republic was interrupted 
and thus the country was deprived of a lawful government; 

That the undersigned, in his capacity as constitutional governor of 
the State of Cop.huila, had solemnly taken the oath to observe and 
cause the generiil constitution to be observed, and that, complying 
with this duty and of the above oath, he was inevitably obliged to rise 
in arms to oppose the usurpation of Huerta, and to restore constitu- 
tional order in the Republic of Mexico ; 

That this duty, furthermore, was imposed upon him in a precise 
and express manner by a decree of the legislature of the State of 
Coahuila, by which he was categorically directed to repudiate the 
government of the usurper Huerta and to oppose it by the force of 
arms until it would be completely overthrown ; 

That, in view of the occurrence, the undersigned called all patriotic 
Mexicans to arms, and with the first ones who followed him he framed 
the plan of Guadalupe, on March 26, 1913, which has served to this 
day as the banner and by-law of the constitutionalist revolution; 

That, from the military groups which were formed to oppose 
Huerta's usurpation, the divisions of the northwest, northeast, east, 
center, an:l south, operated under the lerdership of the first chieftain- 
ship, perfect harmony existing between this and the former, and com- 
plete coordmation in the means of action to accomplish the desired 
purpose; though the same did not occur with the northern division, 
which, under the command of Gen. 1 rancisco Villa, showed from the 
beginning private tendencies, and finally severed its connections with 
the headquarters of the constitutionalist revolution, acting according 
to its own initiative, to such extent that the first chief does not know 
to this day, in a great measure, the means l:)y which the above-men- 
tioned general has secured funds and sustained the campaign, the 
amount of such funds and the use he may have made of them ; 

That, upon the arrival at the City of Mexico of the victorious 
revolutionary army, it endeavored to properly organize the provisional 
government, and was getting ready besides, to meet the demands of 
public opinion, by a satisfactory solution of the imperative exigencies 
of social reform needed by the people, when it was confronted with 
the difficulties which the reaction had been ]yre])aring in the bosom of 
the northern division, in order to frustrate the triuinphs reached b}' 
the efi'orts of (he constitutionalist army; 

That the first chieftainship, anxious to organize th(^ provisional 
government in accordance with the ideas and tendencies of the men 
who, with arms in hand, made the constitutionalist revolution, and 
who, therefore, were intimately cognizant of the ideals which were 



26 AFFAIRS IN" MEXICO. 

pursued, called a general convention to be held in the City of Mexico, 
composed of gene^Js, governors, and ofRcers in command of troops, 
to the end that all of them togethci' should decide on a progroni of 
government, indicate in a general way such reforms t,s seemed indis- 
pensable for the accomplishment of the socisJ and political redemp- 
tion of the nation, and would establish the form and time when con- 
stitutional order should be restored; 

That this purpose had soon to be deferred, because the generals, 
governors, and ofhccrs who attended the militar}^ convention in the 
City of Mexif considered it f dxisable that there should be representa- 
tives at f.11 the meetings of the elements which had tiiken part in the 
fght rg.inst the usurpation of Huerta, as some of them had abstained 
from attending, giving as a pretext a lack of guaranties and because 
of the rebellion which c rancisco Villa Ivd already started against the 
chief's office, rnd on this account they expressed their deske to bt 
transferred to Aguiiscalientes, the place they considered more anpro- 
priate and having the conditions of neutrality sought by the military 
convention for the prosecution of their work; 

That the members of the convention adopted this determination 
after they had reiterated to the undersigned their conf. rmation of his 
functions as first chief of the constitutionalist revolution and deposi- 
tory of the executive power of the Republic, which investiture he 
hficl then relinquished formally, in order to show that lie was not 
animated by undue sentiments of ]:>ersonfl emlntion, ])ut that, in 
A'icw of existing difficulties, his cherished r:mi w..s that revolutionary 
action should not be divided, and thus frustrate the fruits of the 
victorious revolution; 

That this first chieftainship made no opposition to the transfer of 
the military convention to the city oi Agucscclientes, although it 
was intimatel}^ persuaded that, far from obtaining the conciliation 
sought, the separation betAveen the commander of the northern 
diyision and the constitutionrlist army wT)uld become still deeper, 
because the first chief did not wish to make the impression th^.t he 
had the deliberate intention of excluding the northern division from 
the discussion upon m-itters of the greatest importance; t Iso because 
he did [not ?] wish to appear as refusing that a li'st effort toward concilia- 
tion should be made, and because he believed thc.t it was imperative for 
the good of the revolution that the true motives of Gen. Villa should 
be disclosed in an evident manner before national conscience,, reliev- 
ing from error those who in good faith believed in the sincerity and 
pat"'iotir.m of Gen. Villa and the groun of men who surrounded him; 

That so soon as the works of the Aguascalientes convention were 
initiated the machinations of the Villista agents were laid bare, 
they havin^^ performed the principal role at the convention, and the 
system of threats was felt and unbridled pressure was put to practice 
•against those who, on account of their sense of honor and spirit of 
independence, opposed the impositions of the commander of the 
northern (H vision to direct the works of the convention to suit his 
pleasure; 

That, on the othei" hand, many of the chiefs who attended the 
Aguascalientes convention did not grasp the importance and true 
mission of the convention, and as they were men of little or no experi- 
ence in political matters, their good faith was profited by the malicious 
agents of Villa, and dragged them to secoiid inadvertently the- 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 27 

maneuvering of tlie northern division, without regard to the cause 
of the people or even outHning the general thought of the revolution 
and the program of the preconstitutional government, which was 
.generally desired : 

That for the purpose of avoiding a controversy of a purely personal 
character and the further shedding of blood, the first chieftainship 
made every possible effort to reach a conciliation, offering to with- 
draw^ from power provided a government capable of carrying into 
effect the social and political reform.s demanded by the country 
should be establis'lied. But having failed to satisfy the thirst for 
power of the northern division, notwithstanding the successive con- 
cessions made by the first chieftainship, and in view of the well- 
defined attitude of a great number of constitutionalist leaders w^ho, 
repudiating the resolutions adopted by the Aguascalientes conven- 
tion, ratified their allegiance to the plan of Guadalupe, this first 
chieftainship was constrained to accept the challenge to fight the 
reaction lead at present hj Gen. Francisco Villa: 

That the class of the elements on which Gen. Villa is banking, 
which are the same that prevented President Madero from directh.g 
his policy, are, therefore, politically responsible, in a radical sense, 
for his downfall. On the other hand, the express declarations made 
on several occasions by the comimander oi the northern division 
advocating the establislunent of coiistitutional order before the 
social and political reforms demanded by the country take place, 
clearly demonstrate that the insubordination of Gen. Villa is of a 
strictly reactionary character and contrary to constitutionalist 
activities, and has for a purpose to frustrate the complete success of 
the revolution, preventing the establishm.ent of a preconstitutional 
government intrusted witli the enactment and enforcement of the 
reforms wdiich have been the subject of the struggle which has been 
raging for the last four years; 

That, therefore, it is a duty in behalf of the revolution and the 
fatherland to continue the revolution started in 1913, pursuing the 
fight against the new enemies of the liberty of the Mexican people; 

That it being imperative,' therefore, that the interruption oi con- 
stitutional order should subsist darirg this new period of the struggle, 
the plan of Guadalupe should therefore continue to be in force, as it 
has been the guidance and banner of it, until the enemy may have 
been overpowered completely in order that the constitution may be 
restored; 

That it having been impossible to carry into effect the purposes 
for which the mditary convention of October, 1914, was con.yened, 
and the purpose of the new fight beir.g, on the part of the reactionar}^ 
troops commanded by Gen. Villa, to prevent the realization of 
revolutioriary reforms demanded by the Mexican people, the first 
chief of the revolution is obliged to procure, that at the earliest pos- 
sible moment, there should be put into eft'ect all the laws covering 
the political and economic reforms which the country requires, 
enacting the same during the struggle that is to be commenced; 

That, therefore, and it being necessary for the plan of Guadalupe 
to remain in force in its essential pf.rt, it is imperative that the 
Mexican peo})le and the constitutionelist army should clearly know 
the military ends which are bein^ pursued in the present fight, which 
are the annihilation of the reaction creeping up with Gen. Villa at 



28 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

the head, and the establishment of the political and social principles 
which inspire this first chieftainship, wnich are the ideals ior which 
the Mexican people liave been ligliting dnring the last four years. 

That, therefore, and in accordance with the most general sentiments 
among the holders of the constitutionalist army, the governors of 
the St7\tes and of other collaborators of the revolution, and interpret- 
ing the needs of the Mexican people, I, Venustiano Carranza, have 
seen fit to decree the following: 

Ai-ticle 1. The plan of Guadalupe of March 26, 1913, shall subsist 
until the comjilete trium]di of the revolution, and, therefore, Citizen 
Venustiano Carranza shall continue in his post as first chief of the con- 
stitutionalist revolution and as depository of the executive power of 
the nation, untd the enemy is overpowered and peace is restored. 

Article 2. The first chief of the revolution and depositoiy of the 
executive power of the Republic, shall enact and enforce, during the 
struggle, all tlie laws, provisions, and measures tending to meet the 
economic, social, and political needs of the country, carrying into 
effect the reforms which public opinion demands as indispensable for 
the establishment of a regime which will guarantee the equality ol 
Mexicans among themselves, agrarian laws favoring the creation of 
small landowners, the suppression of latifundia or large landholders, 
and the restoration to townships of the lands illegp.lly taken from 
them; fiscal laws tending to establish an equitable system of taxation 
on real estate; laws tending to improve the condition of the rural 
laborer, the workingman, the miner, and, in general, of the working 
classes; the establishment of municipal freedom as a constitutional 
institution; bases for a new system of organization of the army; 
amendments of the election laws in order to insure the effectiveness 
of suffrage; organization of an independent judicial power, in the 
federation as well as in the States; revision of the laws relative to 
niarriage and the civil status of persons; provisions guaranteeing the 
strict observance of the laws of reform; revision of the civil, penal, 
and commercial codes; amendment of judicial procedure, for the 
purpose of expediting and causing the eft'ectiveness of the administra- 
tion of justice; revision of laws relative to the exploitation of mines, 
petroleum, water rights, forests, and other natural resources of the 
country, in order to destroy the monopolies created by the old regime 
and to prevent the formation of new ones; political reforms which 
will insure the absolute observance of the constitution of Mexico, and, 
in general, all the other laws which may be deemed necessary to 
insure for all the inhabitants of the country the eft'ectiveness and full 
enjoyment of their rights, and their equality before the laws. 

Article 3. In order to continue the struggle and to carry into effect 
the reforms referred to in the preceding article, the chief of the 
revolution is hereby expressly authorized to convene and oiganize 
the constitutionalist army and direct the operations of the campaign; 
to appoint the governors and military commanders of the States and 
to remove them freel}''; to effect the expropriations on account of 
public utility which may be necessary for the distributions of lands, 
founding of townships, and other public services; to negotiate loans 
and issue obligation against the national treasury, indicating the 
property which shall guarantee them; to appoint and remove freely 
federal employees of the civil administration and of the States and to 
fix the powers of each of them; to make, either directly or through the 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 29 

chiefs he may appoint, requisitions for lands, buildings, arms, horses, 
vehicles, provisions, and other elements of war; and to create deco- 
rations and decree recompenses lor services rendered to the revo- 
lution. 

A*BTiCLE 4. Upon the success of the revolution, when the supreme 
chieftainship may be established in the city of Mexico and after the 
elections for municipal councils in the majority of the States of the 
Republic, the first chief of the revolution, as depository of the execu- 
tive power, shall issue the call for election of congressmen, fixmg in 
the calls the dates and terms in which the elections shall be held. 

Article 5. Once the federal congress has been installed, the chief 
of the revolution shall render an account before it of the use he may 
have made of the powers with which he is vested hereby, and he shall 
especially submit the reforms made and put into effect during the 
struggle, in order that congress may ratify them, amend them, or 
supplement them, and to the end that those which it may see fit 
may be raised to the rank of constitutional precepts, before the re- 
establislnnent of constitutional order. 

Article 6. The federal congress shall convene the people to the 
election of president of the Republic, and as soon as this takes place 
the first chief of the revolution shall deliver to the president elect the 
executive power of the nation. 

Article 7. In case of absolute default of the present chief of the 
revolution and in the meantime the generals and governors proceed 
t > the election of the person who is to take his place, the chief office 
sliill be temporarily filled by the commander of the army corps at 
th8 place where the revolutionary government may be the time the 
default of the first chief occurs. 

V. Carranza. 
Adolfo de la Huerta, 
Chief Clerk of the Bepartment of the Interior. 

Constitution and Reforms, 

Vera Cruz, Becemher 12, 1914. 



[Inclosiu-e No. 4E.] 
DECLARATION TO THE NATION. 

DECLARATION TO THE NATION BY THE FIRST CHIEF OF THE CONSTI- 
TUTIONALIST GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO AND DEPOSITORY OF THE 
EXECUTIVE POWER OF THE REPUBLIC. 

At last, after five years of struggle brought about by the long 
regime of oppression, which kept alive and aggravated the economic 
and social unbalanced conditions of the colonial era, the revolution 
is about to end, overpowering the enemy and establishing definitel)^ 
the economic reforms and political reforms, which constitute its 
purpose and which are the only ones which can insure the peace 
emanating from the welfare of the majority, from equality before 
the law and from justice. 

The revolution has had the instinctive and generous sympathy 
of free countries, precisely because its aim has not been the mere 



30 AFFAIHS IN MEXICO. 

change of personnel of the achninistration, but the complete substi- 
Uition of a regime of oppression by a regime of freedom. The strug- 
gle has been a long one because the impatience of the revolutionaries 
to attain victory in 1911 gave room to the compromise with the 
elements of the old r-egime at Ciudad, Jaurez. From that moment, 
those elements accepted so easily and kindl}', began their work of 
undermining within the revolutionary midst itself the prestige and 
authority of the men who a short time latcT- were elevated to power 
by the free vote of the people. President ]\fadero found himself 
in the impossibility of realizing the reforms demanded by the people; 
first, because within his own government ahuost the •'.\iiole personnel 
of the old regime had remained, and, second, because he had to devote 
his whole time to fight that same old regime which had succefsfully 
risen in arms with Reyes, Orozco and Feliz Diaz, and which fomented 
at the same time that it vitiated the rebellion of Zapata. The 
reaction having been unable, in spite of the above, to suppress the 
reform tendencies of the new regime, it decided that the federal 
army should betray the legitimate government of the Republic. 
Treason was carried into effect by Gen. Huerta under the pretext 
of saving the City of Mexico from the horrors of war, and with the 
cooperation of a group of foreigners favored by the old regime and 
who surrounded Henry Lane Wilson, the President and Vice Presi- 
dent were assassinated and due to the complicity or weakness- of 
he other powers, the nation was left without a constitutional repre- 
sentative. Then I, as governor of the State of Coahuila, and in 
obedience to the constitutional provisions, articles 121 and 128 of 
our fundamental charter, assumed the representation of the repubfic 
in the terms in which the constitution itself vests me with this 
right, and supported by the people which rose in arms to regain its 
liberty. In fact, the above-mentioned articles provide the follow- 
ing: ^ 

EA'ery public officer, v,'ithout exception, prior to his taking possession of his charge, 
shall render an oath that he will sustain the constitution and the laws emanating there- 
from. This constitution shall not fail in force or vigor, even though on account of 
rebellion its observance may be interrupted. In the case that pursuant to a public 
disturbance a government contrary to the principles sanctioned by the constitution 
may be established, as soon as the people regains its freedom, its observance shall be 
reestablished, and, according to it and to the laws which by virtue of it may ha^■e 
been enacted, those who may have figured in the government emanated from the 
rebellion shall be tried as well as those who may have coopsrated in the movem.ent. 

After overpowering the rebellion and usurpation of Huerta, and 
before the constitutionalist army reached the City of Mexico, the 
reactionaries, faithful to their old procedure, began to mingle in our 
ranks and to corrupt those who ought to have given their support to 
this government, determining as a result the repudiation of it by 
Gbn. Villa and the formation of factions whose chiefs felt encouraged 
by the presence of foreign representatives who were v/ith them. 

When our forces left the City of Mexico, pursuant to a militar}^ and 
political plan, it was thought that the constitutionaUst government 
had lost tho support of the people and with it its prestige and force, 
and that it would follow the course of previous trespassers of public 
power, but the apparent victory of the reaction headed by Francisco 
Villa was still more ephemeral than the one obtained by the usurpa- 
tion of Gen. Huerta, and to-day, after the greatest and most definite 
victories militarily obtained by the army of the people in various 



AEFAIKS IN MEXICO. 31 

parts of the country, I can say to my countrymen that the consti- 
tutionahst government has control of over seven-eighths of the na- 
tional territory; that it is organizing public administration in 20 out 
of 27 States of the Republic and in more than half of the other 7 
States; that it controls all the maritime ports on the Gulf and on the 
Pacific Ocean, with the exception of Guaymas, and all the ports of 
entry on the northern and southern frontiers, with the exception of 
Piedras Negras, Ciudad Juarez, and Nogales; that more than thirteen 
million of the fifteen which represent the population of the country — 
that is to say, nine-tenths of the total population of the Republic — 
are governed by the administration I preside; that day after day the 
factions are being routed and dispersed, their offensive action being 
limited at present to acts of brigandage, and that within a short time 
the occupation of the City of Mexico will contribute to make the 
action of the constitutionalist government more harmonious and 
efficient in all the territory of the Republic. Therefore, our country 
is nearmg the end of its revolution and the consolidation of a definite 
peace, based on conditions of weKare and justice. 

In the midst of the greatest difficulties and within that w^hich may 
be humanely possible, the constitutionalist government has complied 
with its duties and has extenuated in behalf of the people the hard- 
ships of war, either forbidding the exportation of articles of prime 
necessity or adopting measures of practical effect to facilitate the 
accj[uisition of the same for the benefit of the poor; it has afforded 
guaranties and given protection to the inhabitants within the ter- 
ritory controlled by the constitutionalist forces, all of whom live a 
life of normal activity; it has prevented and punished the faults and 
abuses growing out of the state of social disturbance, which, lament- 
able as they may be, neither because of their number nor their im- 
portance, can be considered as characteristic feature of a govern- 
mental regime. I am the first one to deplore the privations which 
the Mexican people have had to suffer as a result of the w^ar, wliicli 
constitute one of the many sacrifices the people have to pass through 
in order to conquer their liberties ; but I am decided to employ all the 
means which may be at the reach of the government to comply with 
the work of humanity demanded by the circumstances. Fortunately, 
the recent victories over the factions enlarge the sphere of action of 
the constitutionalist government and facilitate the compliance of the 
duties which all Governments have with regard to their constituents 
to afford guaranties to the inhabitants and to procure the welfare of 
the masses. 

With regard to our foreign relations, notwithstanding that one of 
my first acts was to address a note by telegraph to the State Depart- 
ment of the United States of America apprising it of my capacity in 
front of the rebellion and the usurpation, one of the difficulties which 
has retarded our labors has been the lack of understaiiding between 
the government I have the honor to represent and the Governments 
of other nations, especially that of the United States. 

The great interests of the old regime have created a real system of 
falsehoods and slander against this government, spreading them day 
after day through the channel of the powerful journals of the Amer- 
ican ''cientifico" press, which reach the ear of the press of the world, 
with the object of deformmg before the opinion of other nations the 
procedure and the tendencies of the Mexican revolution; the same 



32 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

interests have used their influence to have false reports rendered to 
the Governments of otlier countries, and especially so with reoard to 
tlie United States, whenever they have endeavored to form judgment 
concerning the Mexican situation. The constitution ahst govern- 
ment has been deprived of the facilities to make any recti ications 
against such reports, because it has been denied the opportunity and 
the means incidental to diplomatic relations between one country 
and another. 

We feel that we are at the present time in condition to overcome 
this last difficulty, because the constitution ahst government is now 
in fact in definite possession of the sovereignty of the country; and 
the legitimate army of sovereignty is the essential condition to be 
borne in mind when deciding upon the recognition of a government, 
if as we expect it and desire it in behalf of the Mexican people and of 
the foreign residents of this country, the governments of otiier nations 
recognize the constitutionalist government, this act of justice will 
afford it an efficient moral assistance, not only to strengthen the 
friendly relations which Mexico has always maintained with those 
nations and be able to discuss their common affairs conciliating their 
mutual interests, but also to secure a more speedy consolidation of 
peace to establish a constructive constitutional government, supported 
by the reforms and the program of the revolution, whose aims are the 
greater good of the greater number. 

I am, therefore, of the opinion that the time has come to call the 
attention of the warring factions which are still engaged in armed op- 
position against the constitutionalist government, to the futiUty of 
their •attitude, because of the recent and definite victories gained by 
our army, as well as because of the conviction they must have of our 
sincerit}^ and capability to carry into realization the ideals of the 
revolution. Therefore, 1 appeal to those factions to submit to the 
constitutionalist government in order to expedite the reestablish- 
ment of peace and to consumate the work of the revolution. With 
a view to reahzing the above-mentioned purposes, I have deemed 
proper to inform the nation upon the political conduct to be ob- 
served by the constitutionahst government, in the performance of 
the program of social reform contained in the decree of December 
12, 1914. 

Fnst. The constitutionalist government shall afford to foreigners 
residing in Mexico all the guaranties to which they are entitled accord- 
ing to our laws, and shall amply protect their lives, their freedom, 
and the enjoyment of their rights of property, allowing them indem- 
nities for the damages which the revolution may have caused to 
tl em, in so far as such indemnities may be just and which are to be 
determined by a procedure to be established later. The govern- 
ment shall also assume the responsibility of legitimate financial 
obligations. 

Second. The fu'st concern of the constitutionalist government 
shall be to reestablish peace within the province of law and order, 
to the end that all the inhabitants of Mexico, both native and for- 
eign, shall equally enjoy the benefits of true justice and be interested 
in cooperating to the support of the government emanating from 
the revolution. The commission of crimes of the conmion order 
shall be punished. In due time an amnesty shall be enacted in keep- 
ing with the necessities of the country and the situation, which m 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 33 

no way shall exempt those under it of the civil responsibilities they 
may have incurred. 

Third. The constitutionalist laws of Mexico, known under the name 
of laws of reform, which establish the separation of the church and 
the state and which guarantee the individual right of worship in 
accordance with his own conscience and without offending public 
order, shall be strictly observed; therefore, no one shall suffer in his 
life, freedom, and property because of his religious beliefs. Temples 
shall continue to be the property of the nation according to laws 
m force, and the constitutionalist government shall again cede for 
the purposes of worship those which may be necessary. 

Fourth. There shall be no confiscation in connection with the 
settlement of the agrarian question. This problem shall be solved 
by an equitable distribution of the lands still owned by the gov- 
ernment; by the recovery of those lots which may have been 
illegally taken from individuals or communities; by the purchase and 
expropriation of large tracts of land, if necessary; by all other means 
of acquisition permitted by the laws of the country. The constitu- 
tion of Mexico forbids privileges, and therefore all kinds of properties ^ 
regardless of who the owners may be, whether operated or not, shall 
in the future be subject to the proportional payment of a tax in 
accordance with a just and equitable valuation. 

Fifth. All property legitimately acquired from individuals or 
legal governments, and which may not constitute a privilege or a. 
monopoly, shall be respected. 

Sixth. The peace and safety of a nation depends from the clear 
understanding of citizenship. Therefore, the government shall take 
pains in developing public education, causing it to spread throughout 
the whole country, and to this end it shall utilize all cooperation 
rendered in good faith, permitting the establishment of private schools 
subject to our laws. 

Seventh. In order to establish the constitutional government, 
the government by me presided shall observe and comply with the 
provisions of articles 4, 5, and 6 of the decree of December 12, 1914, 
which reads as foUov/s: 

Article 4. Iminediately upon the success of the revolution and the reestablishment 
of the first chieftainship in the City of Mexico, and after the etections for municipal 
coimcils in the majority of the States of the Kepublic, the first chief of the revolution, 
as the depository of the executive power of the nation, shall convene the people to 
elections for members of the federal congress, fixing in the call the dates and terms 
in which such elections shall take place. 

Article 5. Immediately after the installation of the federal congress the first chief 
of the revolution shall render an account before it of the use he may have made of 
the powers with which he is hereby invested, and he shall especially submit to it 
the reforms which may have been enacted and made effective during the struggle, 
to the end that congress may ratify them or amend them or complete them, and in 
order that it may give the vigor of constitutional provisions to those which ought to 
have such character prior to the establishment of constitutional order. 

Article 6. The federal congress shall convene the people to the election of j)resident 
of the Republic, and as soon this takes place the first chief of the revolution shall 
deliver to the president elect the executive power of the nation. 

V. Carranza, 

First Chief of the Constitutionalist Army 
and depository of the Executive Power of the Republic of Mexico^ 

CONSTITUTIOlSr AND REFORMS, 

Vera Cruz, June 11, 1916. 
S. Doc. 324, 64-1 3 



34 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

[Inclosure No. 4F.] 
GEN. CARRANZA TO MB. ARREDONDO. 

[Telegram.]. 

Vera Cruz, October 6. 
Eliseo Arredondo, Esq., 

Mexican Embassy, Washington, D. C. 

I have taken note of your cipher message dated yesterday. Please 
deny that there are any disturbances in the frontier of Chiapas against 
Guatemala and that the Government under my direction is in some 
way favoring revolution in above;-^mentioned country, 

A j3art of the State of Oaxaca is not under our control but the 
Constitutionalist Government controls the rest of the State wherein 
the important Isthmian Railway is situated and very soon the whole 
State will be under the power of our forces. 

It is so far impossible to state just when our forces will control the 
Yaqui VaUey, Sonora, but there are no important reactionary nu- 
cleuses to suppress and within a short time there will be only a few 
bands of marauders left. 

The amnesty law will be issued in favor of those who are not 
charged with the commission of civil crimes while in position of 
official responsibility. It will be issued as soon as the Government 
may have terminated the campaign and consolidated itself (after 
recognition) for if all the political refugees now expatriated and their 
accomplices of the usurpation (by Huerta) are allowed to come back 
at once, they will only come here to continue their work of con- 
spiracy and to bring about greater evils than those which the country 
already has suffered on their account. 

V. Carranza. 



[Inclosure No. 5.] 

secretary of war to secretary of state. 

War Department, 
Washington, February 10, 1916. 
The Secretary of War presents his compliments to the honorable 
the Secretary of State, and incloses, in accordance with the verbal 
request made this date by the chief, division of Mexican affairs, addi- 
tional copies of report No. 146 of general conditions along the Mexi- 
can border based on weekly reports of January 1, 1916, from the 
local military commanding officers, and upon information received 
from all other sources, and Report No. 148 of similar conditions for 
the week ending January 15, 1916. 



[Inclosure No. 5 A.] 
WEEKLY REPORT OF GENERAL CONDITIONS. 

Weekly report of general conditions along the Mexican border, 
based on weekly reports of January 1, 1916, from the local mihtary 
commanding officers and upon inform.ation received from all sources 
to date. 

BROWNSVILLE. 

The commanding officer, Brownsville Cavalry patrol district, reports: "Nothing of 
imjiortance to report." 



APFAIKS IN MEXICO. 35 

The commanding officer, Brownsville subdistrict, reports as follows: "Absolute 
quiet prevailed during the week ending December 31, 1915. A number of families 
who went over into Mexico with their furniture, stock, and other belongings, during 
the height of the bandit trouble, have returned to this side with their belongings. 
From all appearances, conditions have assumed their normal state along the border." 

HARLINGEN. 

The commanding officer, subdistrict of Harlingen, reports: "Nothing of special 
interest to report. The Mexicans who attempted to cross the river near Los Indios 
the last week were not bandits, and their attempt has no significance." 

Los Indios. — "Two Mexicans were apprehended December 26 while attempting 
to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico below San Benito pump. Two other Mexicans 
were apprehended December 27, one while attempting to cross near the Harlingen 
pump, the other near San Benito pump. The above was made the subject of a special 
report dated the 28th instant." 

Mercedes Headr/ate. — ' ' The past week has been very quiec. There is nothing further 
to report." 

Landrum's Ranch, La Paloma. — "Nothing extraordinary has happened in this sector 
during the period." 

San Pedro Ranch, San Bonito. — "No unusual occurrences." 

Santa Maria. — "All quiet." 

The commanding officer, Twenty -sixth Infantry, Harlingen, reports: "Quiet. 
Conditions improving." 

Mercedes. — "Conditions have remained normal during the week." 

Mission. — Following from commanding officer. Twenty-eighth Infantry: "Condi- 
tions remained normal throughout the week ending January 1. Two families emi- 
grated to Mexico during the week and 74 families of 134 persons immigrated to the 
United States during the same period." 

The commanding officer, cavalry camp at Mission, reports: "Conditions have con- 
tinued normal during the past week." 

PORT RINGGOLD, RIO GRANDE. 

"Conditions have remained normal during the past week." 

LAREDO. 

The commanding general. Second Brigade, reports: "Conditions in this district 
have remained quiet during the week." 

The commanding officer. Fort Mcintosh, reports: "Everything has remained quiet 
in this district during the past week." 

EAGLE PASS. 

The commanding officer. Seventeenth Infantry, reports: "Nothing has occurred 
to report on border conditions during the week." 

The commanding officer, detachment Fourteenth Cavalry, Eagle Pass, reports: 
"Conditions remain normal in this district." 

DEL RIO. 

"Nothing of importance to report." 

Western Texas Cavalry Patrol District. 



"Nothing of importance to report. Quiet has maintained throughout the district. 
The garrison of the de facto Mexican government at Ojinaga consists of about 300 men ; 
150 of whom are regulars and the remainder apparently local volunteers." 

Eighth Brigade. 

port bliss, el PASO. 

The following report, dated January 2, 1916, was received from the commanding 
general, Eighth Brigade: "The garrison of Juarez having been transferred to Carran- 
zista control, there were 800 Mexican (Carranza) soldiers sent there from Chihuahua 



36 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

on the 29th ultimo. About 2,300 Garranza soldiers with baggage and camp followers 
were disembarked at Pelca on the 30th ultimo and marched into Juarez from that 
point without incident. Gen. Obregon left El Paso on the 1st instant for Chihuahua. 
The whereabouts of Gen. Villa continues to be unknown. Conditions in this vicinit}'' 
seem to be peaceful and it is reported that most of the ex-Villa troops have been 
mustered out, paid off, and returned to their homes." 

COLUMBUS. 

"The Villista forces at Palomas, Mexico, and the Border Gate have transferred their 
allegiance to the Carranza Government." 

HACHITA. 

"Border conditions in this patrol district for week ending January 1, 1916, have 
remained normal." 

DOUGLAS. 

The following report, dated January 2, 1916, was received from the commanding 
officer. Second Cavalry Brigade: 

"Military situation. — In and about Agua Prieta there have been no military move- 
ments of any kind. Peace reigns to the south and southeast and no reports of Vil- 
listas haA^e been received diu'ing the past week." 

"Business outlook. — Train service between Douglas and Nacozari was resumed on 
Saturday, January 1. The large bridges that were burned have been temporarily 
repaired and it is expected that the regular traffic will be resumed within four or five 
days. Practically all of the mining people who were compelled to leave Sonora on 
account of the Villa campaign have returned to their mines, the Nacozari Railroad 
granting them free transportation south. 

"It is expected that the whole State of Sonora will be normal within a week or 10 
days. 

"With the opening of the raib'oad there were heavy shipments of concentrates to 
the Copper Queen Smelter in Douglas. The Montezuma Mining Co. have their mines 
and mill now in operation." 

The commanding officer, Seventh Cavalry, reports: "Conditions have remained 
normal in this vicinity during the week." 



The following repiort, dated January 1, was received from the commanding officer 
of this station: "Nothing of importance has occurred in this vicinity during the week. 
The mines and furnaces of the Cananea Consolidated Copper Co. are in full operation. 
The Southern Pacific de Mexico Railroad is operating on both the Cananea and No- 
gales branches. On December 30, 1915, Gen. Gavira, with his brigade, was trans- 
ported by way of the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad from Naco, Sonora, to Palayas, 
N. Mex., en route to Jiiarez. Each of the two sections of the train carrying these 
Mexican troops was accompanied by one commissioned officer and eight men of my 
command." 



[Inclosure 6B.] 
WEEKLY REPORT OF CONDITIONS ON MEXICAN BORDER. 

Weekly report of general conditions along the Mexican border, 
based on weekly reports of January 15, 1916, from the local military 
commanding officers and upon information received from aU sources 
to date: 

BROWNSVILLE. 

The commanding officer, Brownsville Cavalry patrol district, reports as follows: 
"About 15 wagonloads of furniture came over the past week with Mexican families 
returning to the United States, which shows to some extent increased confidence in 
the stability of present conditions." 

The commanding officer, subdistrict of Brownsville, reports as follows: "Nothing 
unusual developed during the week. Conditions normal. The reported withdrawal 
of the squadron of the Twelfth Cavalry from the valley, in my opinion, is responsible 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 37 

for the several rumors of bandit movements across the river. The residents of the 
lower valley of the Rio Grande will oppose the withdrawal of any troops from the 
valley, and any suggested movement of troops away from this locality will, no doubt, 
bring on a new crop of rumors." 

HARLINGEN. 

The commanding officer, Twenty-sixth Infantry, reports "conditions quiet during 
the week." 

The commanding officer, Sixth Cavalry, reports: "No disturbances due to bandits 
this week. It is said that Miguel Garcia from near El Soliseno Rancho, opposite 
Santa Maria, was trying to enlist men to make a raid into United States and offered 
a dollar a day as wages. He failed to get any recruits." 

MERCEDES. 

"Conditions have remained normal during the period in this section." 



The commanding officer. Twenty-eighth Infantry, reports: "Conditions remained 
normal in this district during the week ending January 16, 1916. During this week 
one family emigrated to Mexico and 48 families of 80 persons immigrated to the 
United States." 

The commanding officer of the Cavalry camp at Mission reports: "Conditions have 
continued normal during the past week." 

FORT RINGGOLD, RIO GRANDE. 

Report not received. 

LAREDO. 

The following report, dated January 15, was received from the commanding general, 
Second Brigade: '•Conditions in and around Laredo have remained quiet and un- 
changed for the i^ast week. Americans coming out of Mexico report a great deal of 
typhus fever, especially in the City of Mexico and in the towns between there and 
our border. There are now two cases of typhus in Laredo in the city pesthouse. ITp 
to date there have been five cases, one of which died and two recovered." 

The commanding officer. Fort Mcintosh, reports: "EA'erything has remained quiet 
in this district during the past week. " 

EAGLE PASS. 

The commanding officer, Seventeenth Infantry, reports: "Nothing has occurred to 
report on border conditions during the week." 

The commanding officer, detachment. Fourteenth Cavalry, Eagle Pass, reports: 
"Conditions remain normal in this district." 

DEL RIO. 

"Conditions remain normal in this vicinity." 

Western Texas Cavalry Patrol District. 

MARPA. 

"Nothing of importance to report. Things have remained quiet throughout the 
entire district during the p«,st week." 

COLUMBUS. 

The commanding officer of this station reports as follows: "It is reported that the 
Carranzista forces at Palomas, Mexico, have been reinforced by about 50 cavalrymen 
and 30 infantrymen." 

HA CHITA. 

"Border conditions in this patrol district for the week ending January 15, 1916, 
have remained normal." 



38 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 



The following report, dated January 15, 1916, was received from the commanding 
officer Second Cavalry Brigade: 

"Military situation. — -On January 13, 150 men under Col. Quevedo left Agua 
Prieta for Casas Grandes, to cooperate with other Carranza forces said to have been 
sent from Juarez. Maj. Campbell, in command, of the garrison at Agua Prieta, gave 
strict orders to Col. Quevedo that there should be no raiding of the country through 
which his troops passed and to exterminate any Villa soldiers found. 

'^Economic situation. — South of Douglas, in the Nacozari and Moctezuma districts, 
great activity is reported. Mining men are returning to open up their properties, 
and it is probable large shipments will be made in the near future. The hotel at 
Nacozaii is crowded and means are being taken to increase the accommodations , on 
account of the heavy traffic expected in the spring. " 

The commanding officer Seventh Cavalry reports: "Conditions have remained 
normal in this vicinity during the week. " 

NACO. 

"All has been quiet from a military standpoint in this vicinity during the week. " 



[Inclosure No. 6.] 
SECRETARY OF WAR TO SECRETARY OF STATE. 

War Department, 

Washington, January 26, 1916. 
The honorable the Secretary of State. 

My Dear Mr. Secretary: Referring further to your letter of 
January 17, 1916, stating that the Department of State has been 
directed by the President to prepare an answer to Senate resolution, 
dated January 6, 1916, in regard to the Mexican situation, and re- 
questing that a statement be prepared by this department respecting 
the orders given to Gen. Funston for the protection of American 
lives and property on the Mexican border, together with any pertinent 
facts concerning the occupation and evacuation of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 
by the forces of the United States, I beg leave to advise you that the 
records of the department show as follows: 

1. MEXICAN BORDER. 

Advices having been received by the State Department indi- 
cating serious unrest and intrigue on both sides of the Mexican border, 
and information having been received from the Mexican Government 
through its ambassador in Washington that bands of revolutionists 
were assembling at various places along the frontier of Texas, direc- 
tions were issued on November 19, 1910, to the commanding generals 
of the Departments of Texas and Colorado to investigate the situa- 
tion on the frontier and to advise the War Department as to what 
precautionary measures were deemed practicable and necessary. As 
a result of the reports received the commanding general. Department 
of Texas, was authorized, under date of November 21, 1910, when- 
ever in his judgment such action became necessary, to send troops 
to aid the civil authorities in enforcing the neutrality laws, and under 
date of November 22, 1910, he reported to the War Department that, 
in pursuance of the instructions before referred to, he had sent one 
troop of Cavalry to Del Rio and another troop to Eagle Pass, Tex. 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO, 39 

The internal situation in Mexico having become more acute, and 
reports received from the State Department and the Department of 
Justice, as well as from officers of the Army on duty on the Mexican 
border, having indicated that serious disturbances were imminent, 
additional troops were sent to places on the border until the entire 
border line from the mouth of the Rio Grande to San Diego, Cal., 
was patrolled by United States troops in order to secure the strict 
enforcement of the rules of international law governing neutrality, 
as well as to obtain a proper observance and enforcement of the 
neutrality statutes of the Federal Government. To this end the 
proper officers were directed to use due diligence to see that such 
rules and laws were observed. Troops have been kept on the border 
for the purposes stated from that time to the present writing. 

Commanders of United States troops on the Mexican border were 
ordered to give all possible protection to American life and property, 
to warn the commanders of Mexican forces along the border to refrain 
from any action that would endanger American life and property on 
the American side of the border, and to inform them that United 
States forces would be used to prevent action by Mexican troops 
endangering life and property on the American side of the line. 
Sincerely, yours, 

LiNDLEY M. Garrison, 

Secretary of War. 

[Inclosure No. 7.] 
MR. ASREDONDO TO THE SECRETAIIY OF STATE. 

Agenoia Confidencial del 

GOBIERNO CONSTITUCIONALISTA DE MeXICO, 

Washington, B.C., October 8, 1915. 

My Dear Mr. Lansing: Complying with your excellency's request 
asking me what is the attitude of the constitutionalist government 
in regard to the Catholic Church in Mexico, I have the honor to say 
that inasmuch as the reestablishment of peace within order and law 
is the purpose of the Government of Mr. Venustiano Carranza, to the 
end that all the inhabitants of Mexico without exception, whether 
nationals or foreigners, may equally enjoy the benefits of true justice, 
and hence take interest in cooperating to the support of the Govern- 
ment, the laws of reform, which guarantee individual freedom of 
worship according to everyone's conscience, shall be strictly observed. 
Therefore the constitutionalist government will respect everybody's 
life, property, and religious beliefs without other limitation than the 
preservation of public order and the observance of the institutions 
in accordance with the laws in force and the constitution of the 
Republic. 

Hoping that I may have honored your excellency's wishes, I avail 
myself of this opportunity to reiterate to you the assurances of my 
highest consideration. 

E. Arredondo. 

His Excellency Robert Lansing, 

Secretary of State, Washington , D. C. 



40 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

[Inclosiire No. 8.] 

consul at chihuahua to secretary of state. 

American Consulate, 

Chihuahua, Mexico, July 31 , 1913. 

The honorable the Secretary of State, 

Washington, D. C. 

Sir: I am in receipt of a letter dated July 28 from Mr. William J. 
Quigley, manager of the El Potosi Mining Co., one of the members 
of the Mine and Smelters Operators' Association, in which I am re- 
quested to bring the following matter to the department's attention 
and to request an opinion thereon, for the guidance of the parties in 
interest. 

On July 12 the executive committee of the Mine and Smelter 
Operators' Association was summoned before Sr. Francisco Escudero, 
minister of finance in the de facto government of Gen. Villa, other- 
wise self-styled the conventionist government, and a request was 
made of them, as coming from Gen. Villa, to advance the said govern- 
ment the sum of $300,000, on the understanding that loans made by 
the various companies having membership in the association in pur- 
suance of the request mentioned would be credited to the such com- 
panies in the payment of taxes and freight charges as these might 
become due in the future. The association in due time, through its 
secretary, advised Sr. Escudero in effect that it would be impossible 
for the operating mining and smelting companies to meet his demands, 
by reason of then- foreign character, and the danger that making 
loans of the character proposed might be construed by adverse fac- 
tions in the present civil conflict in Mexico as a hostile proceeding, 
in so far as they were concerned, with the result that the companies 
guilty of these indiscretions might la}^ themselves to penalties in the 
future. 

The mining companies are now fully expectmg, either in the im- 
mediate future or more remotely, action of a more vigorous kind 
calculated to secure the results aimed at by Sr. Escudero, and in this 
understanding they request the department to advise them as to 
what measures they should pursue to prevent the collection of forced 
loans that may be ordered against them. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, 

Marion Letcher, 

American Consul. 



[Inclosure No. 8A.] 

acting secretary of state to consul at chihuahua. 

August 11, 1915. 
Marion Letcher, Esq., 

American Consul, Chihuahua, Mexico. 
Sir: The department has received your dispatch No. 658 of July 
31, 1915, saying that you are in receipt of a communication from Mr. 
William J. Quigley, manager of the El Potosi Mming Co., one of the 
members of the Mine and Smelter Operators' Association, requesting 
suggestions relative to the veiled demands on American mining 
companies for loans. 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 41 

Tlie only advice which the department can give to the association 

at this time is that if the authorities in the city of Chihuahua shall 

attempt to impose a forced loan upon the members of the association, 

immediate notice of such attempt should be given to the department. 

• I am, sir, your obediant servant, 

(Signed) Wilbur J. Carr, 
For the Acting Secretary of State. 



[Inclosure No. 8B .] 

MINE AND SMELTER OPERATORS' ASSOCIATION TO SECRETARY 

OF STATE. 

El Paso, Tex., August 6, 1916. 
Secretary of State, 

Washington. 
Gen. Villa has demanded that accredited representatives of the mine 
and smelter operators of Chihuahua present themselves at the gover- 
nor's palace at Chihuahua August 9 to meet Gen. Villa to receive a 
proposition of grave importance which will be submitted at that time. 
He threatens that properties which are not represented at the proposed 
meeting by fully empowered representatives will be closed. He 
stated that he would conclude with those present arrangements which 
would be binding on the industry although we have pointed out to 
Villa that the specific purpose of the meeting and the object for dis- 
cussion must be known before necessary authority with proper limita- 
tion can be delegated by the principals to their representatives or 
agents, nevertheless he has flatly refused to state to us or even to 
indicate the nature of the proposition which is to be submitted. It is 
our unanimous opinion that Villa's purpose is to obtain money un- 
justly and coercively. We realize from previous instances the likli- 
hood that coercive methods and intimidation will be applied by Villa 
at such a meeting. On July 12 Senor Escudero, secretary of ha- 
cienda, acting under instructions of Gen. Villa, proposed that because 
of the urgent needs of his government the members of this association 
each advance as large a sum as possible such advance to be repaid by 
crediting same against amounts which should become payable for 
mining taxes and railroad freights. Total amount required was 
stated as $300,000 gold. We refused to contribute on grounds that 
such advances would compromise us because open to construction as 
participation in the internal political affairs of Mexico. We are there- 
fore apprehensive that Villa now intends to exact a forced loan or its 
equivalent, hence we respectfully and earnestly request that appro- 
priate representations be made to Gen. Villa for the purpose of fore- 
stalling any demands upon us by him for a forced loan or any other 
illegal exaction. We beUeve that such representations are necessary 
to protect our rights and will avoid disagreeable and embarrassing 
complications in the present delicate situation. 
Respectfully, 

Mine and Smelter Operators' Association, 

El Paso, Tex. 



42 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

[Inclosure No. SC] 

george c. carothers to the secretary of state. 

El Paso, Tex., 

August 12, 1915. 
Secretary of State, Washington: 

In conference between Gen. Scott and myself accompanied by a 
committee representing the mining men of Chihuahua and Gen. 
Villa, we convinced Villa of the impracticability of enforcing his 
proposed decrees as against the mining men and he definitely agreed 
with us to let the mining men alone and to discuss with them the 
problem of keeping the railroads open, the mining men requesting 
him to protect their stock of goods which it is necessary for them to 
import and Villa offered absolute, protection and an escort of all 
goods ordered to the mines and to enforce his military commanders 
to abstain from confiscating their stocks of merchandise. At this 
meeting, the mining men voluntarily presented Gen. Villa with 
1,000 tons of coal to assist in the operation of the railroad. It is 
both Gen. Scott's and my opinion that we should abstain from 
making further representations to Villa for several days so as not to 
tire him. As soon as expedient I will take up the Tlahualilo and 
other cases with him. ■ 

Geo. C. Carothers. 



[Inclosiu'e No. 9.] 
REAR ADMIRAL FLETCHER TO THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY. 

U. S. S." Florida," 

Vera Cruz, Mexico, April 9, 1914- 
Secretary Navy, Washington: 
Mayo reports, 5 p. m. Thursday: 

This forenoon Mexican soldiers arrested paymaster and whale boat's crew of Dolphin, 
part of whom were in boat with flag flying, marched them two blocks through streets, 
then back to boat, and there released them. Gen. Zaragoza expressed regret verbally. 
In view of publicity of event I have called for formal disavowal and apology (and) 
punishment of officer in charge Mexican squad, and salute to American flag within 24 
laours from 6 p. m., Thursday. 

Mayo. 

Utah left for Tampico 7 p. m., Thursday. 

Fletcher. 



[Inclosure No. 9A.] 

secretary of the navy to secretary of state. 

Navy Department, 
Washington, January 19, 1916. 
Sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
January 17, 1916, in which you inform this department that the 
President has directed the Department of State to prepare a reply to 
Senate resolution dated January 6, 1916, requesting certain docu- 
ments, letters, reports, orders, and so forth, in regard to the Mexican 
situation, in connection with which you request that a statement be 
prepared for you embodying the pertinent facts concerning the occu- 



AFFAIES IN MEXICO. 43 

pation of Vera Cruz by our naval forces. It is noted that you have 
requested the Secretary of War to have a similar statement prepared. 

In compliance with your request; I have the honor to inform you 
that on the night of April 20, 1914, in obedience to orders from the 
President of the United States, Admiral Fletcher, commanding the 
naval forces then stationed off Vera Cruz, Mexico, was directed to 
seize and hold the customhouse at Vera Cruz and not to permit war 
supplies to be delivered to the Huerta government or to any other 
party. These orders were received by Admiral Fletcher at 8 a. m on 
April 21. The American consul was immediately notified and di- 
rected to send all foreigners aboard the Ward Lme steamer Mexico, 
then in the harbor of Vera Cruz. The, Mexican military commandant 
was notified of the intention of our forces to take charge of the custom- 
house. At 11,30 a. m. on April 21 a landing force from the U. S. S. 
Florida, Utah, and Prairie, totaling 787 officers and men, of which 
502 were marines, had been landed and had taken charge of the cus- 
tomhouse, cp.ble station, railway station, and post office at Vera Cruz. 
No resistance was encountered on the initial landing, but about noon 
the Mexican forces began firing on the American troops, so that in 
order to hold the customhouse it became necessary to occupy the city 
of Vera Cruz. Reinforcements arrived on the night of the 21st 
instant, and by April 24 complete control of the cit}^ was gained by 
the American forces. On April 24 Admiral Fletcher declared martial 
law in the city of Vera Cruz. Army transports arrived at Vera Cruz 
on April 28, and after conference with Gen. Funston, Admiral Fletcher 
established a civil government under martial law. 

At 8 a. m. on April 30, the forces of the Ai^my were landed from 
transports, and at 2 p. m. of that date control of the city was taken 
over by the Army. The naval forces, with the exception of the ma- 
rmes, were withdrawn to the vessels in the harbor, and the marines 
were assigned to duty with the Army. 

Copies of all messages in reference to the occupation of Vera Cruz 
were sent to your department. 
Sincerely, yours, 

JosEPHUs Daniels. 

The honorable the Secretary of State. 



[Inclosure No. 9B.] 
SECRETARY OF WAR TO SECRETARY OF STATE. 

War Department, 

Washington, January 26, 1916. 
The honorable the Secretary of State. 

My Dear Mr. Secretary: Referring further to your letter of Janu- 
ary 17, 1916, stating that the Department of State has been directed 
by the President to prepare an answer to Senate resolution dated 
January 6, 1916, in regard to the Mexican situation, and requesting 
that a statement be prepared by this department respecting the orders 
given to Gen. Funston for the protection of American lives and 
property on the Mexican border, together with any pertinent facts 
concerning the occupation and evacuation of Vera Cruz, Mexico, by 
the forces of the United States, I beg leave to advise you that the 
records of the department show as follows: 



44 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

1, MEXICAN BORDEE. 

2. OCCUPATION AND EVACUATION OF VERA CRUZ, MEXICO. 

Vera Cruz, Mexico, having been, by direction of the President, 
occupied by the naval forces of the United States, instructions were 
issued on April 23, 1914, to the commanding general, second division, 
Texas City, Tex., to cause the reinforced Fifth Brigade to embark as 
soon as practicable on the Army transports Sumner, McCIellan, Kil- 
patrick, and Meade, and to proceed at once to Vera Cruz. 

On April 24, 1914, the louf regiments of Infantry of the Fifth 
Brigade, together with Company E, Second Battalion of Engineers, 
and Field Hospital No. 3, a total of 182 officers and 3,047 enlisted 
men, sailed from Galveston, Tex., under the command of Brig. Gen. 
Funston, United States Army, and arrived in Vera Cruz Harbor on 
April 28, 1914, and disembarked. On April 26, 1914, the First 
Battalion of the Fourth Field Artillery sailed from Texas City for 
Vera Cruz on the chartered transport Satilla to join Gen. Funston' s 
command. 

On April 26, 1914, orders were issued to Gen. Funston, m compli- 
ance with mstructions received from the President, upon arrival at 
Vera Cruz, to relieve the Navy of its duties ashore incident to the 
occupation and control of the city of Vera Cruz and its environs. 
Gen. Funston was advised on the same date that pursuant to the 
orders of the President the First Brigade, United States Marine 
Corps, would be placed under his command for service with the Army. 

On April 29, 1914, the headquarters, band, and detachment of the 
First Battalion, Fourth Field Artillery, and Troops I and K, Sixth 
Cavalry, sailed from Galveston for Vera Cruz on the chartered trans- 
port San Marcos; and on April 30, 1914, Company D, Signal Corps, 
sailed for Vera Cruz on the naval transport Esperanza. 

Gen. Funston reported taking over from the Navy the command at 
Vera Cruz on the afternoon of April 30, 1914. 

A military government was established by General Orders, No. 3, 
Headquarters, United States Expeditionary Forces, May 2, 1914. 
This order set forth the principle that the government established 
thereby would continue the system to which the people of Vera Cruz 
were accustomed, in so far as consistent with military control, and 
from that date until the evacuation the Army continued to administer 
the civil affairs of the city. 

The executive branches of the military government established by 
the general order cited above consisted of the following: 

The office of the provost marshal general. 

The office of the treasurer. 

The customs service, including the lighthouse service, to which was 
later added the pilot service. 

The United States mail agency and the general post office. 

Each of these branches was placed in charge of an officer of the 
Army, except the customs service, which was administered by Com- 
mander H. O. Stickney, United States Navy, as administrator of cus- 
toms and captain of the port, and the United States mail agency and 
the general post office, which were administered by Mr. H. M. Robin- 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 45 

son, an official of the Post Office Department, sent to Vera Cruz for 
the purpose. 

Prior to the evacuation, instructions were issued to Gen. Funston 
to bring with him to the United States all funds in his possession from 
whatever source derived, both United States funds and Mexican cus- 
tom receipts and taxes. He was also instructed to bring with him all 
the records, accounts, and money papers necessary to establish the 
integrity and accuracy of his financial and other administration, and 
to make an inventory of all goods in the customhouse, keeping the 
original of such inventory and leaving a copy with the American 
consul at Vera Cruz. Gen. Funston was also authorized to leave 
with the latter such copies of accounts or other data as might be 
required by whomsoever might continue the government of the city. 

On November 14, 1914, as the result of an announcement issued 
by the State Department on November 13, 1914, Gen. Funston was 
directed to make all preparations to leave Vera Cruz Monday, Novem- 
ber 23, 1914. 

On November 20, 1914, Gen. Funston was instructed to evacuate 
Vera Cruz on the date specified above, viz, Monday, November 23, 
1914. 

On November 23, 1914, Gen. Funston advised the department that 
he would embark his command at 2 o'clock on the afternoon of that 
day on the transports Sumner, Kil'patrick, Cristobal, McClellan, Kan- 
san, Antilla, City of Memphis, Denver, and San Marcos. 

On November 26, 1914, Gen. Funston reported the arrival of his 
command at Galveston, Tex. 

Subsequently to his arrival at Galveston, Gen. Funston reported 
that the Mexican funds brought with him to the United States, 
together with the money papers pertaining thereto, had been placed 
for safe-keeping in the strong room of the First National Bank at 
Galveston, storage room for all other records of the military govern- 
ment of Vera Cruz having been provided by the depot quartenmaster 
at Galveston. In this connection Gen. Funston suggested the advis- 
ability of sending the Mexican funds and the records of the treas- 
urer's office to the subtreasury at New Orleans, La,, for safe-keeping. 
Upon receipt of that suggestion the department communicated at 
once with the Treasury Department with a view to ascertaining as to 
whether it would be practicable to place these funds and records in 
the subtreasury at New Orleans as suggested, and the Treasury De- 
partment having signified its willingness to have the funds and rec- 
ords so transferred, Maj. Blanton Winship, judge advocate. United 
States Army, who had immediate charge of these funds and records, 
was advised accordingly. 

On January 1, 1915, Maj. Winship reported that he had on that date 
shipped to the subtreasury at New Orleans, La., one field safe, sealed, 
containing 1,539,051.20 Mexican pesos, and the books and records 
pertaining to the military treasurer's office, together with one sealed 
wooden box containing 1,065,000 Mexican pesos, or a net total of 
2,604,051.20 pesos. 

On January 12, 1915, the department advised the Secretary of 
State of the transfer of the Mexican funds and records, as set forth 
above. 

Sincerely, yours, 

LiNDLEY M. Garrison, 

Secretary of War. 



46 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

[Inclosiire No. 10.] 

secretary of state to the brazilian minister in mexico. 

Department of vState, 

Wasliington, September 22, 1914- 
The Brazilian Minister, Mexico: 

Certain rumors have reached this Government as to actions which 
may possibly be taken by the authorities at Vera Cruz after its 
evacuation, namely: 

The exaction of further payments of duties on merchandise which 
has passed through the customhouse since American occupation and 
on which the duties have been paid. The exaction of further pay- 
ments of local and municipal taxes paid since American occupation, 
such as hcense fees, property taxes, screet taxes, etc. The imposition 
of fines or other pena.lties upon Mexican citizens, who have been 
employed in connection with the civil government of the city since 
American occupation. 

You are requested to call these subjects to the attention of Gen. 
Carranza and state to him that this Government, while it does not 
give credence to these rumors, as such actions would be manifesth" 
unjust, considers that to avoid possible improper conduct by subordi- 
nates and to allay apprehension at Vera Cruz it is hoped that Gen. 
Carranza ^vill give a specific assurance in regard to each subject that 
the rumored action will not be permitted. 

You will please intimate to Gen. Carranza the advisability of 
giving these assurances in definite form and as soon as possible in 
order that there may be no delay in carrying out the proposed 
evacuation of Vera Cruz by the American forces. 

You will also please call to Gen. Carranza's attention the fact that 
there is in Vera Cruz a large number of so-called refugees, among 
them many priests and nuns, who came there because of apprehension 
as to their personal safety while civil strife prevailed in Mexico. 
This Government earnestly hopes that Gen. Carranza will be wilhng 
to announce that the Mexican central authorities will not countenance 
or permit any wanton mistreatment of these people, but will assure 
them that protection which an enhghtened and orderly Government 
affords to individuals within its jurisdiction. 

Robert Lansing, 

Acting Secretary of State. 



[Inclosure No. 11.] 
BRAZILIAN MINISTER IN MEXICO TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 

Mexico City, Mexico, 

November 10, 1914. 
Secretary of State, 

Washington, D. C: 
November 10 — 11 a.m. — ^Acting Secretaryfor Foreign Relations, who 
is now in Cordoba, State of Vera Cruz, with Carranza, invited me this 
morning to have a telegraphic conference over the wire of the foreign . 



AFPAIES IN MEXICO. 47 

oiRce, during which he transmitted the following note, with request 
that same be transcribed to you at once: 

Cordoba, November 10, 1914- 

Mr. Minister: Referring to your excellency's note, dated the 2d instant, rela- 
tive to the evacuation of Vera Cruz by forces of the United States of America, by order 
of the first chief of the constitutionalist army in charge of the executive of the union, 
I have the honor to inform your excellency as follows: The chamber of commerce 
and the owners of real estate at the port of Vera Cruz, as well as the employees who 
have served in several capacities in the administration of the port during American 
occupation, have addressed themselves to the first chief of the constitutionalist army 
in charge of the executive, through the governor and miUtary commander of the State, 
stating that the taxpayers will be satisfied with such resolutions of the National 
Government as may be later passed by it in reference to the collection of fiscal dues 
as have been paid to the American authorities who have been in exercise in the port; 
also, that the employees are disposed to submit themselves to such disposition as 
the Mexican authorities may see fit. The first chief of the constitutionalist army in 
charge of the executive is now of the attitude assumed by the chamber of commerce, 
the owners of the city real estate, and the above-mentioned employees, and of his 
considering so fit for the welfare of national interests, has been pleased to issue, under 
date of the 8th and 9th instant, the following decree: 

" Venustiano Carranza, first chief of the constitutional army in charge of the execu- 
tive power of the United States of Mexico, using of the extraordinary authority in 
me vested, and considering that the chamber of commerce and the majority of own- 
ers and administrators of real estate at the port of Vera Cruz have addressed the ex- 
ecutive in my charge, renouncing the protection asked for in their behalf by the 
United States Government before expecting the evacuation of Vera Cruz, stating cate- 
gorically that they will abide by all the just decisions which the Mexican Govern- 
ment may render in reference to the collection of fiscal dues previously collected by 
foreign authorities, and because I consider it convenient to the national interests, I 
have seen fit to decree as follows: 

" 'Article 1. On the occupation of Vera Cruz by the Mexican authorities no exa? 
tion will be made from the inhabitants of the port for the payment of taxes or any other 
contributions of Federal character which may have previously been paid to the for- 
eign authorities which temporarily occupied the port. 

" 'Article 2. In order to be entitled to the privilege granted by this decree it will 
be sufficient for interested persons to present to the tax collector's office the receipts 
showing that such payments were made to the authorities established during the occu- 
pation of Vera Cruz by the American forces.' 

"And I have to inform you of the above for its immediate publication and due 
observance. 

"V. Carranza." 

Constitution and Reforms, 

General Headquarters at Cordoba, November 8, 1914. 

The second decree reads as follows: 

Venustiano Carranza, first chief of the constitutionalist army in charge of the execu- 
tive power of the United States of Mexico, by virtue of the extraordinary faculties 
in me vested, and considering, firstly, the Mexican and foreign employees who have 
served the authorities established in Vera Cruz dm-ing its occupation by American 
forces have addressed this fiirst office of the constitutionalist army through the gov- 
ernor and. military commander of this State, stating of their own accord, that they 
only recognize the national government as entitled to resolve the questions of interior 
order such as refer to the punishment or partion of persons who, as themselves, have 
served the foreign authorities; secondly, that they expressly declared that they will 
be agreeable to the decisions that the national government may render in regard to 
them in order that they may not be considered as an obstacle for the eminently 
patriotic act of obtaining a speedy evacuation of Vera Cruz; and, thirdly, that the 
spontaneous and patriotic attitude of such employees has made them deserving of an 
amnesty for such penalties as they might have incurred, in I have seen fit to issue 
the following decree: 

"General amnesty is hereby granted to all persons who may have served as em- 
ployees in the several branches of the public administration that in a de facto manner 
have exercised control temporarily during the occupation of Vera Cruz by American 
forces." 



48 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

And I communicate the above to you so that you may in tuiui make it known to the 
federal and local authorities of the Republic for its immediate pul)lication and strict 
observance. 

V. Carranza. 
Constitution and Reforms, 

General Headquarters at Cordoha, November 9, 1914. 

Gen. Caiidido Aguilar, as military governor of tlie State of Vera 
Cruz, has to-day issued the following decree: 

The government in my charge is obligated to dispense its protection to such persons 
as may ha^-e paid the fiscal dues in the port of Vera Cruz to the American authorities, 
and that such protection should be made extensive to the new collection of such dues 
a second time as have lieen paid, it being so considered in equity, and considering 
that a lai'ge majority of the residents of said port recognize that the Mexican Govern- 
ment is the only one which ought to protect them, they place themselves under its 
protection as an act of pure patriotism. For the above considerations, I haA^e seen 
fit to decree as follows: 

"Article 1. Upon the evacuation of Vera Cruz l:)y the American forces and its occu- 
pation by the Mexican authorities, no exaction will be made from the inhabitants of 
the port for either municipal or state dues such as may have been previously paid Ijy 
them to the foreign authorities who occupied the port. 

•"Article 2. In order to be able to enjoy the benefits granted by this decree, it will 
be sufficient to present to the respective collectors' offices the receipts showing the 
payments made to the functionaries of the administration which had control of affairs 
during American occupation." 

Therefore I order that the above be published, circulated, and duly complied with. 

Issued at Cordoba on the 10th day of November, 1914. 

Gen. C. Aguilar. 
J. Dominguez, 
Asd tant Secretary of the Government. 

In view of the fact that the Mexican Government has issued the decrees which I 
have had the honor to transcribe to you above, the causes pointed out by the Govern- 
ment of the United States of America for the continued occupation of the port of Vera 
Cruz have disappeared. In consequence, the first chief of the constitutionalist army 
in charge of the executive of the union, trusts that, as offered in your note of November 
2, the Government of the United States of America will not delay any longer the 
evacuation of Vera Cruz and will proceed at once to evacuate the port. 

I protest to you, Mr. Minister, the assurances of my highest coursideration. 

IsiDRO Fabela. 

Constitution and Reforms. 

Cardoso de Oliveira. 



[luclosure No. 12.] 

lilST OF AMERICANS KILLED IN MEXICO DURING THE YEARS 
1913, 1914, AND 1915. 

The list of Americans killed in Mexico during the period mentioned 
above is subdivided into five classes, as follows: 

Class 1. — ^Americans killed in Mexico from causes that can be 
attributed directly to the revolutionary disturbances. 

Class 2. — ^Americans who have disappeared in Mexico and who 
were probably killed from causes that can be attributed directly to 
the revolutionary disturbances. 

Class 5.— Americans killed, apparently through motives of rob- 
bery, by bandits or others (not including those killed by Indians). 

Class 4- — ^Americans killed by Indians, apparently through motives 
of robbery or revenge. 

Class 5. — ^Americans killed in Mexico during the period mentioned 
from miscellaneous causes and causes not definitely stated. 



AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 49 

AMERICANS KILLED IN MEXICO FROM CAUSES THAT CAN BE ATTRI- 
BUTED DIRECTLY TO THE REVOLUTIONARY DISTURBANCES. 

Class 1—1913. 

John B. Alainia, May 13: Hanged as spy and for other alleged crimes, at Rio Bravo, 
State of Tamaulipas. 

John Henry Thomas, August 13: Assassinated by federal soldiers at Madera, State 
of Chihuahua. Murderers executed. 

Edmund Hayes, August 15: Assassinated by same band of soldiers as Thomas, 
above. 

William C. Robertson, September 10: Murdered by revolutionists at El Lobo, 
Mazatlan district. State of Sinaloa, for failing to show his passport promptly and 
resisting while being disarmed. 

Porfirio Laurel, November 1: Arrested at Nuevo Laredo charged with smuggling 
ammunition to revolutionists. Stabbed to death with bayonet. Appears to have 
been killed before being brought to trial. 

Charles Seggerson, November 15: Appears to have been accidentally shot in the 
back when Villa captured Juarez. 

Luciano Martinez, December 6: Reported to have been about 16 years oli when 
kille'. He enliste i in the rebel ranks in the Tampico ristrict. Representations 
were ma e to the authorities to release him, but no definite action appears to have 
been taken by them in the matter, an 1 Martinez was kille I in battle. 

Incarnacion Sanchez, December 31: Said to have been murlerel by Mexican 
fe eral officials at Mexicali. 

Jose Valencia, December 31: Murdered at the same time as Sanchez, above. 

Class 1—1914. 

Frank Smith, January 26: Kille 1 by federals in the vicinity of Tampico. No 
motiAe known. Federal lieutenant and sergeant were court-martiale 1 an 1 executed 
for this crime. 

Guy S. Sawyer, April — , 1914: Wounded during attack on Monterey by consti- 
tutionalists an I ( ie 1 from effects. 

Dr. E. E. Kelly, August 27: Shot in the back an 1 kille ■ by In'ian sol Uers at 
Navajoa, Hermosiho ; istrict. State of Sonora. No motive known. 

F. C. Chapel, November 16: Shot an;l kille 1 by Mexican sol ier at Nogales, State 
of Sonora. Sol J ier was on sentry i uty and hal challenge I Chapel. No reason was 
given as to why he was challenged. Tlie soldier was place ; un er arrest, but was 
afterwards released . 

Class 1—1915. 

John B. McManus, March 11: Shot aul killei by Zapatistas in Mexico City. Vic 
tim was (^efen ing his home against assault, due to revenge. Palafox, Villista- 
Zapatista Conventionista Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs, expresse I deep regret 
for the miir.'er. Wi ow was pai '_ 120,000 pesos, or about $20,000 gol i. 

Isaac R. Ely, May 15: Acci entally shot by Villistas while they were attacking 
tlie Ebano pump station, Tampico i istrict. 

J. N. Bennett, May 26: Shot by Villistas anl kille ; while in launch with Garran- 
ztsta solfiers, on the Panuco River, off Tampico. 

A. Martinette, About June 1: Kille I at Cunipas by Maytorena (Villista) soldiers 
un^ier Gen. Trujillo. 

Edgar Bea,n, November 20: Reported to have been murdered at Puerto Citos, a 
suburls of Cananea, State of Sonora. It was reported that Bean was an engineer, 
and that when his engine ran off. the track Col. Beltran, of the Villista forces, became 
enraged and shot him. 

Americans killed in Mexico from causes that can be attributed directly to the 
revolutionary disturbances (1913, 1914, 1915), 18. 

S. Doc. 324, 64-1 i 



50 AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

AMERICANS Wi;0 HAVE DISAPPEARED IN MEXICO AND WHO HAVE 
PROBABLY BEEN KILLED FROM CAUSES THAT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED 
DIRECTLY TO THE REVOLUTIONARY DISTURBANCES (COVERS THE 
PERIOD FROM THE FIRST OF 1913 TO AND INCLUDING 11)15). 

Class 2—1914. 

Gustav Bauch, February 15: Arrested as epy in Ciudad Juarez by Villistas. Dis- 
appeared between Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua. Special Representative Carothers 
stated that he thought Bauch was killed by order of Gen. Villa. 

Harry Compton, February 15: Reported sentenced to be executed. Investiga- 
tions at Chihuahua, Ciudad Juarez, and Ojinaga revealed no trace of him. 

Charles Milton, March 26: Rumored murdered by band of Huerta followers south 
of Cananea, State of Sonora. 

Juan Coy, April 6: Disappeared when Monclova was being attacked; may have 
been killed in attack; no trace of Coy ever found. 

Class 2—1915. 

Charles S. Dalrymple, February 12: Seen in prison at Victoria, State of Tamauli- 

Eas. Stated to passerby that he had just been transferred from Chihuahua, where 
e had been held incomunicado for a year. No trace of him ever found after being 
seen in Victoria. 

Peter Scott, about June 1 : Rumored killed at Navajoa, near Nogales, State of Sonora. 
No details and no further report. 

Total number of Americans who disappeared in Mexico in the period from 1913 to 
1915, inclusive, 6. 

AMERICANS KILLED IN MEXICO, APPARENTLY THROUGH MOTIVES OF 
ROBBERY, BY BANDITS OR OTHERS (NOT INCLUDING THOSE KILLED 
BY INDIANS— SHOWN IN A SEPARATE LIST). 

Class 3—1913. 

Boris Gorow, February 20: Killed by bandits in the Territory of Tepic. 

Mrs. Charles E. Ross, August 28: Also known as Kitty Hines. Murdered by four 
Mexicans whom she surprised while they were robbing her home at Chihuahua. 

Maurice P. Ptoot, September 2: Stabbed to death while resisting robbery at Mazat- 
lan. Murderer never brought to justice. 

Class 3—1914. 

Clemente Vergarra, February 13: Seized near Piedras Negras. The reason for his 
seizure was not stated. It was reported that although Vergarra's release was ordered 
he was afterwards killed. 

Weston Burwell, about April 23: Killed at Ozuluama by orders of a federal officer, 
Col. Quirol. Motive supposed to have been robbery. Quirol was afterwards arrested 
in the United States and deported to Habana, Cuba. 

C. B. Hoadley, May 10: Reported killed at the same time certain British subjects 
were killed or wounded in raids on mines in the Guadalajara district. Motive proba- 
bly robbery. 

Class 3—1915. 

John Glenn Farmenter, May 26: Murdered by bandits after being robbed near 
Guadalajara. Some of the baiidits were killed by pursuing soldiers. 

Idward Freeman Welles, August 13: Killed by bandits when train was attacked 
between Santa Lucrecia and Vera Cruz; bandits not apprehended. 

James Jacoby, August 21: Murdered at Chihuahua City; motive probably robbery. 
No results from investigation. 

James E. Taylor, -September 16: Died as a result of being shot through the stomach 
while protecting his home from robbery near Fanuco, State of Vera Cruz. 

Total number of Americans killed in Mexico in 1913, 1914, and 1915, apparently 
through motives of robbery, by bandits or others (not including those killed by Indi- 
ans shown in a separate list), 10. 



AFFAIES IF MEXICO. ' 51 

AMERICANS KILLED IN MEXICO BY INDIANS, APPAUENTLY TnilOUGH 
MOTIVES OF ROBBERY OR REVENGE. 

Class 4—1913. 

Edward Gregory Dexter, January 14: Murdered by Indians at San Juan Taviche, 
near Oaxaca. Four men arrested for the crime. 

Class 4—1914. 

Tom Farrell, June 26: Killed from ambush by either Yaqui Indians or Mexicans, 
between San Javier and La Colorado, Hermosillo district. 

0. A. L. Squires, August 6: Killed by Yaquis at La Colorado, Hermosillo district, 
while trying to prevent robbery. 

John Williams, August 10: Killed near Yasitos, State of Sonora, by Mexicans or 
Yaquis. 

Class 4—1915. 

Eugene Camera, February 25: Mm-dered by Yaquis at Lencho Station, Guaymas 
district, State of Sonora. 

C. M. Brown, April 27: Shot and killed by Mayo Indians at Ahome, Mazatlan dis- 
trict, State of Sinaloa. 

John P. Wilson, May 11: Killed by Yaqui Indians at Esperanza, State of Sonora. 

J. J. Donovan, May 11: Killed by same band of Yaquis. 

Joseph Tays, September r- Murdered by Indians near San Bias, State of Sinaloa. 

W. A. Fay, May 11: Killed by the same band of Yaquis that murdered Wilson and 
Donovan above. 

Charles Goldsborough, November 4: Killed along with two companions by Indians 
in the district of Fuerte, State of Sinaloa. Identity of companions not known; evi- 
dently Mexicans. 

W. S. Windham, November 6: Murdered by Indians at Quimichis ranch, Territory 
of Tepic, through motive of revenge. 

Total number of Americans killed by Indians apparently through motives of rob- 
bery or revenge, 1913, 1914, and 1915, 12. 

AMERICANS KILLED IN MEXICO DURING THE REVOLUTIONARY DIS- 
TURBANCES IN THE YEARS 1913, 1914, AND J 915 FROM MISCELLANE- 
OUS CAUSES AND FROM CAUSES NOT DEFINITELY STATED. 

Class 5—1913. 

Frank Horace, March — : Murdered by Mexican citizen at Coalcoman, State of 
Michoacan. Miu'derer arrested but escaped. Later reported to have been enlisted in 
the army. 

Walter Van Den Bosch, March 17: Murdered by Mexican civilian at Durango. 
Two men arrested. 

James O. Lawrence, Marcli 22: Murdered by Mexican civilian at Tampico. 

Albert H. Lawi-ence, March 31': Shot and killed by Mexican at Tampico. Assailant 
sentenced, then released; later shot by Mexican army officer. 

William W. Corrie, April 1 : Was attached to the U. S. S. California. Reported mur- 
dered by chief of police of Guayamas. 

John C. Klesow, April 1: Attached to the U. S. S. California. Reported murdered 
at the same time as Corrie in the same manner. 

William Protexter, May 12: Shot by two Mexican civilians at La Junta, Chihuahaa. 
One of the Mexicans was shot and killed by Protexter. Protexter died as a result 
of his wound. 

Henry Knox Burton, July 13: Murdered by Constitutionalist soldier at Santa 
Rosalia. No motive known. Murderer was arrested, but previous to attack on town 
by enemy was released. 

Victor 'W. East, September 16: Murdered in the State of Campcche. Miu-derer 
escaped. ^ ' 

John Edson, November: Murdered with machetes by four men at El Venado, 
Guadalajara. 

Mrs. John Edson, November: Reported fatally wounded at the same time. 



52 , AFFAIRS IN MEXICO. 

Class 5—1914. 

Peder Pederson, January 2: Murdered in Canton Ozuluama, State of Vera Cruz. 

February 4: Bandits ran some burnirg stock cars into the Cumbre Tunnel, in the 
State of Chihualma, and a passerger train collided with them. The foUowirg Ameri- 
cans are known to have been killed: M. J. Gilmartin, Bernard Scholield, John E. 
Webster, E. J. McCutcheon, J. I. Morris, Lee Williams, Thomas Kelly, and H. F. 
Maderis. 

E. M. Harmon, February 22: Murdered at Madera, State of Chihuahua. 

Oscar Allen, March 15: Murdered at Pearson, Chihuahua. 

James Crawford, May 14: Murdered near Panuco, State of Vera Cruz. 

Richard Urban, May 20: Murdered west of Nacozari, State of Sonora. May possibly 
have been murdered by partner. No further report. 

Edward L. Nixon, September 21: Stabbed to death at Tampico by six Mexicans. 
Murderers were placed under arrest. The American vice consul reported in April, 
1915, that they would be tried upon theestablishment of a civil court. 

Herbert Atwater, December 29: Died from being stabbed by a Mexican civilian 
at San Jeronimo, State of Vera Cruz. 

Class 5 — 1915. 

February— Body of a man, supposed to be that of Walter Mcintosh, found at Tam- 
pico; presumably murdered. No clues. 

Reyes Grijalva, April 25: Shot by a Mexican policeman at Nogales while trying to 
escape arrest. The policeman was placed under arrest, and on May 10 Maytorena the 
Villista governor) promised that the policeman would be tried. 

W. M. Byrd, jr., April 27: Executed near Tampico. He was reported to have been 
guilty of stealing cattle and changing brands, and it was stated that he was arrested 
on complaint of Americans. He appears to have been summarily executed by Gen. 
Urbina without the formality of a trial. 

Gilbert Teanhl, June 16: Killed at Charcas, State of San Luis Potosi, while trying 
to stop a quarrel. 

Total number of Americans killed in Mexico during the revolutionary disturbances 
in the years 1913, 1914, and 1915 from miscellaneous causes and from causes not defi- 
nitely stated, 30. 

Grand total of Americans killed in Mexico during the revolutionary disturbances 
in the years 1913, 1914, and 1915: 

(1) Americans killed in Mexico from causes that can be attributed directly to the 

revolutionary disturbances 18 

(2) Americans who have disappeared in Mexico in 1913, 1914, and 1915 and who 

were probably killed from causes that can be attributed directly to the 
revolutionary disturbances 6 

(3) Americans killed, apparently through motives of robbery or revenge (not 

including those killed by Indians) 10 

(4) Americans killed by Indians, apparently through motives of robbery or 

revenge 12 

(5) Americans killed in Mexico during the revolutionary disturbances in the years 

1913, 1914, and 1915 from miscellaneous causes and causes not definitely 
stated 30 

Grand total of Americans killed during the period mentioned 76 

In this connection it may be stated that when the murder of 
American citizens was reported the Department of State made rep- 
resentations, through its representatives, for the apprehension and 
punishment of the assailants; and in some instances the department's 
representatives made such representations to the appropriate officials 
on their own initiative. 

Where there has been no definite information as to the apprehen- 
sion of those reported to be guilty of outrages on American citizens, 
resulting in their death, a notation to that effect has been omitted 
from these lists for the sake of brevity. 



AEFAIES IN MEXICO. 53 

[Inclosure No. 12A.] 
AMERICANS KILLED IN MEXICO IN 1910, 1911, AND 1912. 

1910. 

James M. Reid, November 20, Mexico City: Shot and killed by a Mexican police- 
man. Murderer was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment. 

The following Americans were reported killed in the Republic of Mexico in 1910 
from miscellaneous criminal causes not connected directly with the revolutionary 
disturbances: Cummings, Green, Hughes, Lockart, McLaughlin, Maxwell, Parson, 
Penninston, Randall. 

1911. 

William E. Fowler, March 9, Tuxpam, State of Vera Cruz: Murdered by a Mexican 
peon. Murdered man was a naturalized American citizen and a Canadian by birth. 

George Critchfield, April 7, Ranche Zapatal, near Tuxpam: Died from gunshot 
wound. Supposed murderer was placed on trial. No definite report of the outcome 
of the trial was made at the time. 

Roy M. Godman, April 30, 25 miles from Acapulco: Was murdered by a band of 
70 or 80 insurgents. 

Samuel Hidy, May 18, Los Platanos Colony, San Luis Potosi: Motive apparently 
Tobbery. Mexican foreign office informed the American Embassy that everything 
possible was being done to apprehend the murderers. 

Elbert Pope, May or June, apparently in Lower California: Led a raid from Cali- 
fornia into Lower California. 

John G. D. Carroll, June 11, Alamo, Lower California: Reported murdered by 
Mexican federal auxiliary soldiers. Carroll had taken out his first papers to become 
a Mexican citizen. 

Dr. Allan L. Foster, June 11, Alamo, Lower California: Killed at the same time as 
Carroll. 

Patrick Glennon, June 11, Alamo, Lower California: Killed at the same time as 
Carroll and Foster. Glennon was a naturalized American of Irish birth. 

Milton K. Willis, July 17, Calexico or Mexicali, Lower California: Was shot in a 
quarrel with another man. His assailant is said to have been related to a local judge. 
Assailant was imprisoned and later released on the ground of self-defense. No further 
report at the time. 

Oscar M. Pelham, about September 14, Santa Gertrudis mine, near City of Pachuca: 
Conflicting statements as to how murder occurred. (American citizenship in doubt. 
May have been a Canadian.) 

The following Americans were reported killed in the Republic of Mexico in 1911 
from miscellaneous criminal causes not connected directly with the revolutionary 
distiu'bances: Berthold, Bishop, Clark, Gillett, Jones, Lawton, Lesher, McClelland, 
Royer, Shope, Swazay, Urby. 

1912. 

W. H. Waite, April 4, Ochotal, State of Vera Cruz: Reported murdered by one or 
more employees on his plantation. Consul Haskell at Salina Cruz reported the shoot- 
ing of two persons supposed to be guilty of this crime. 

Thomas A. J. Fountain, April 9, apparently in district surrounding the City of 
Chihuahua: Reported murdered by rebels under Orozco and under the immediate 
command of Salazar. 

Henry Crumley (also reported Cromley), July 21, Purandiro, near Michoacan: 
Killed by a servant or in a fight over a woman (two versions of Crumley's death). 

Rowan Ayers, about August 14, Patzcuaro, State of Michoacan: Reported murdered 
through motives of robbery and revenge. The Mexican Embassy in Washington 
and the American Embassy at Mexico City rei^orted that the murderer had been 
caught and would be executed. 

John J. Brooks, November 17, Chuichupa, Chihuahua: Reported killed by rebels 
while resisting robbery. 

Ernest Spillsbury, December 31, Pachuca: Apparently murdered by a Mexican 
civilian. 

The following Americans were reported killed in the Republic of Mexico in 1912, 
from miscellaneous criminal causes not connected directly with the revolutionary 
disturbances: Adams, Buckerdike, Crawford, Haigler, Harvey, Meyer, Reterman, 
Stevens, Thompson. 

Total number of Americans killed in Mexico in 1910, as shown above 10 

In 1911 22 

In 1932 15 

Grand total 47 



54 AFPAIES IN MEXICO. 

[Inclosure No. 12B.] 
AMERICANS REPORTED KILLED IN UNITED STATES TERRITORY 

Americans reported killed in United States territory as a result of the Mexican 
border troubles during the years 1913, 1914, and 1915: 

Special deputy, about September 13, 1913, Corrizo Springs, Tex.: Consular report 
stated that the deputj' was killed in a conflict between a sheriff's posse and smugglers. 
Posse was assisting United States soldiers. 

Four American citizens were reported killed in Naco, Ariz., in 1914. Names and 
dates not stated. They were presumably killed from shots fired across the border 
from the Mexican side, as a result of fighting between Mexican factions. 

1915. 

Juan Balamia, May 13: Executed by orders of Gen. Blanco, after court-martial, at 
Rio Bravo, in the Matamoros consular district. 

Texas ranger (name not stated), May 27, near Pelares, Mexico: Killed on American 
territory by Mexican bandits. 

American river guard, May 27, near Pelares, Mexico: Killed at same time as Texas 
ranger above. 

Dr. E. S. McCain, October 19, near Brownsville, Tex.: Mortally wounded by Mex- 
icans in train hold-up; died October 19. Raiding party. 

American trainman (name not stated), December 21: Reported by collector of 
custom.s at El Paso, Tex., as having been killed while standing on a freight car. The 
report stated that the shot was fired by an irresponsible Mexican soldier during recent 
trouble in Juarez connected with turning over of garrison to Carranza forces. An 
unverified report stated that soldier firing shot was immediately afterwards killed. 

George A. Diepert, December 21: Reported killed by shots fired across the border 
during a battle at Juarez. 

American (name and date not reported): Killed at Douglas, Ariz. 

Bernard Boley, July 22: Reported by the consul at Matamoros as having been 
killed near Raymond ville. 

Bonefacio Benavides, July 31: Reported by the consul at Matamoros as having 
been killed near Los Indies. 

A. L. Austin, August 7: Killed by bandits at his home. Reported by the consul 
at Matamoros. 

Charles Austin, August 7: Son of A. L. Austin, killed at the same time. Reported 
by the American consul at Matamoros. 

Charles Jensen (no date stated): Was a watchman at Lyford Gin. Reported by the 
American consul at Matamoros. 

R. E. Donaldson, September 2 : Reported by the consul at Matamoros as having been 
murdered at Fresnos Tract. 

J. T. Smith, September 2: Same as above. 

Engineer Kendall, October 19: Killed when bandits wrecked and looted a train 
6 miles from Brownsville. Reported by the American consul at Matamoros. 

Total number of Americans reported killed as above, 20. 



[Inclosure No. 12C.] ' 

AMERICAN SOLDIERS KILLED IN AMERICAN TERRITORY. 

American soldiers killed in American territory on account of Mexican border 
troubles: 
Two soldiers killed at Naco, Ariz., August, 1914. 

1915. 

William S. Warwick, January 29: Killed by shots fired across the border during a 
battle at Juarez, Mexico. 

George R. Maguire, private, August 2, Alice Road, Tex. : Killed in a skirmish with 
Mexican bandits. 

Leo C. Windhaus, private, August 10, Palm Garden, Mercedes, Tex.: Killed in a 
skirmish with Mexican bandits. Raiding party. 

J.ohn Willman, corporal, August 16, Progresso Ferry, Tex. : Killed by fire from band 
of Mexicans from Mexican side. 



APFAIES IN MEXICO. 55 

Anthony Kraft, private, September 13, Loa Indies Kanch, Tex. : Killed in a skirmish 
with Mexican bandits. Raiding party. 

— ■ Forney, private, September 13, Los Indies Ranch, Tex.: Killed in a skir- 
mish with Mexican bandits' raiding party. 

Hem-y Stubblefield, private, September 24, Progresso Ferry, Tex. : Killed in attack 
on Progresso post ofBce by Mexican raiders. 

Albert T. McBee, corporal, October 18, on train near Brownsville, Tex. : Killed by 
Mexican bandits' raiding party dmung holdup. 

Ernest Shaffer, sergeant, October 20, Ojo de Agua, Tex.: Killed by Mexican raid- 
ing party. 

Martin F. Joyce, private, October 20, Ojo de Agua, Tex. : ELilled by ]\fexican raid- 
ing party. 

Herbert McConnell, private, October 20, Ojo de Agua, Tex.: Killed by Mexican 
raiding party. 

(name not yet reported to War Department), November 1, Douglas, 

Ariz. : Killed in trench by firing across border during attack on Agua Prieta. 

Harry J. Jones, private, November 1 or 2, Douglas, Ariz. : Killed by firing across 
border during attack on Agua Prieta. 

Stephen Littles, private, November 26, Nogales, Ariz.: Killed by Carranza men 
through mistaking the company for party of Villistas. 

Total number of American soldiers killed as above, 16. 



[InclosureNo. 12D.] 

MEXICANS REPORTED KILLED IN AMERICAN TERRITORY. 

Mexicans reported killed in American territory as a result of border troubles other 
than those resulting from firing across the international line during engagements in 
Mexican border towns during the period 1913 to 1915, inclusive: 

1913 ; 2 

1915 f 87 

Note. — -One is said to have been killed by Carranza river guards and one was re- 
ported killed by Yilla soldiers. 

Mexicans reported killed in American territory as a result of firing across the inter- 
national line during engagements in Mexican border towns during the period 1913 
to 1915, inclusive: 

1913 1 

1914 2 

Note. — For the years omitted in above tabulation no deaths appear to have been 
reported. 
Total number of Mexicans killed as above, 92. 

Total number of Americans killed on the American side as shown by foregoing 
list 20 

Total number of American soldiers killed in United States territory as shown by 
foregoing list 16 

Total number of Mexicans killed 92 

Grand total 128 

Note. — The lists of American civilians and soldiers killed on 
American territory, as above stated, are thought to be substantially 
correct. However, many of the border troubles occurred at a point 
in the interior of border States, where the local authorities had sole 
jurisdiction, and there were probably a number of persons killed of 
which no report was made to the State or War Department. The 
number of Mexicans killed, as shown above, is based on reports 
received by the State Department and is thought to be approxi- 
mately correct. 

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